


Fireworks

by carrotcouple



Category: Naruto
Genre: Conspiracy, M/M, OK actually Sasuke's a douchebag at first, SasuNaru - Freeform, don't hate characters too quickly, i can't tag, i think i should have put in that tag earlier, lots of dramatics, other characters will be involved, sorta sadistic Sasuke, this may seem like a simple romance at first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2018-09-10 22:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 69,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8942761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrotcouple/pseuds/carrotcouple
Summary: Naruto is engaged and in love with Sasuke who seems to hates his guts. A simple fireworks festival changes his world. Sasuke keeps getting super pissed at him, all the girls want to date him, he keeps getting ANBU offers, he gets weird dreams of things he can't remember and what's this rumour about him dating Itachi? Yeah, his life just exploded.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just got an AO3 account, so I'm gonna put all the chapters I have out all at once.

The eleven year old, blond jinchuuriki cursed as he ran through the rain. Some annoying brat had given away his location to the godaime and now she was after him. He'd have to run to his second hide out before she could catch him. People glared at him and coldly threw things as he ran past them. He had managed to avoid the sandaime extremely well, but the godaime was scary and fantastic at tracking him. Probably was the Senju blood in her veins that felt the Kyuubi in him. His clan had been a grand clan that moved to Konohagakure from Uzushiogakure when they had been attacked multiple times. Konohagakure had promised to protect and cherish every member of the Uzumaki clan, especially because the Shodai's wife had been an Uzumaki, but when the famous sealing clan had fallen into ruins after the Kyuubi's attack and the Bijuu had been sealed into the only remaining member, a child, the promise was abandoned and the young jinchuuriki had to protect himself from the world. He hated the village and foiled every attempt of the sandaime and godaime to put him an orphanage. By all rights, he should have been handed over to his mother's best friend who he had never met, but the elders instead tried to lock him up and keep an eye on him. By Uzumaki custom their children were not allowed to meet people from outside the clan until they could use a kunai, throw shurikens and use the basic of sealing jutsu's. The blond had been learning his first sealing jutsu when the Kyuubi had attacked Konohagakure. The Uzumaki legend was crushed, some thanks to the clan that saved the village. If his clan was still alive, he probably would have been in the academy, acing his classes, eating with his clan, introduced to the person he would marry in the future and he'd have plenty of friends. He suddenly slipped and fell face forward. Instantly the godaime was pinning him to the ground.

"Caught you, Naruto! Shizune, take him."

"Yes, Tsunade sama." Naruto was pulled up into Shizune's arms and carried off even as he struggled furiously. People were staring at him. None of the looks were friendly. He could almost hear what they were thinking. They were thinking that he was getting punished for something, that he was being disposed of and they were thinking 'good riddance'. Naruto stuck his chin out and glared straight back at them. Naruto was surprised when he was dragged into the godaime's private quarters. Shizune pulled him out of his clothes. Naruto struggled, growled, shouted, scratched and threw punches but they were all ineffective. He was shoved into a bath, scrubbed clean until he was pink, his hair was washed and tamed, he was dressed in a deep blue yukata and a cherry blossom was tucked behind his ear. Naruto snarled at Shizune and Tsunade.

"Now, Naruto, if you cooperate with me for today, I'll treat you to a meal of however much ramen you want every day, you hear me?" Tsunade asked him, arms crossed over her chest, looking at him sternly. Naruto blinked and his mouth instantly watered. No, there was no way he could give in to whatever they were thinking. He opened his mouth to refuse and then his stomach growled loudly. Damn it, he hadn't eaten since a random packet of chips he had stolen the day before. Naruto very slowly nodded, fire still in his eyes. "Good, you will do as Shizune orders you to do, you will walk next to her, keep your head down, eyes lowered and you must not speak." Tsunade said. "Are we clear?" Naruto nodded, his stomach was practically burning for food. "Let's go, Shizune."

Tsunade marched out of the house. Shizune smiled at him and held out her hand to him. Glaring at her, he took it and she led him out of the house where Tsunade was waiting. Tsunade sternly reminded him to lower his eyes. Naruto did as he was told and he walked with Shizune, seeing the feet of people as they parted to make way for the Hokage. It had stopped raining. He could feel eyes on him. After walking for what seemed like forever, they walked through a pair of gates and arrived in front of a huge house.

"Ah, welcome, Tsunade sama, please come in." A deep male voice said. The voice was so serious it made Naruto cringe. Shizune squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"Sorry to bother you so late and so suddenly." Tsunade said.

"Is he the one?" the male asked. Naruto could feel a pair of eyes on him. Naruto had a bad feeling about which clan ground he was on, he edged just a little closer to Shizune. Even though he hated Tsunade and Shizune, they didn't treat him like trash as everyone else did. So he had a certain amount of trust in them. He knew they wouldn't kill him or throw him away to some hell. "Is he as troublesome as the rumours say?" Naruto winced.

"Ah...unfortunately yes, but nothing you shouldn't be able to straighten out, just the pranks of a lonely child, and the Kyuubi won't make a fuss, I can guarantee it. The Uzumaki's were experts at sealing and befriending the sealed. But then again, you should know that first hand."

"Indeed, come inside. His mother and brother are preparing him. His mother is utterly thrilled. Have a seat." Naruto sat down next to Shizune, his heart pounding in his chest. What was he doing here? "Look up, Naruto." Shizune squeezed his hand and he slowly looked up. Naruto recognized the man as someone from the Uchiha police force. Instantly Naruto was hit with a wave of uncertainty. What was Tsunade doing. "Do you know why you're here?"

"No." Naruto bit out harshly.

"I apologize, he's been living out on the streets-" Tsunade began.

"Nothing I can't straighten out, just as you said." The man turned back to Naruto. "My name is Uchiha Fugaku." Naruto's eyes widened. He really was an Uchiha! What was going on? Naruto's free hand instantly went to his stomach where the seal was. Were they going to extract the Kyuubi? Naruto was the only living person who knew how the sealing jutsu worked, how any of the Uzumaki jutsu's worked, the only one who could understand the way the Uzumaki jutsus were coded. An Uchiha could take the information from him. Naruto almost snarled. Forget ramen, Naruto would protect his clan's legacy. "The Uzumaki clan and the Uchiha clan made a vow before the Uzumaki clan annihilation, due to the interference of the elders we weren't able to do a thing, but with Tsunade sama as Hokage now, we can carry out the agreement. As the last member of the clan, the representative of the clan, the person involved in the agreement and the current head of the clan, it is your duty to fulfil the agreement." Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. "The youngest member of the clan the only clan member with Uzumaki blood with blond hair was arranged to marry my youngest son as soon as he came of age. That would be you, Uzumaki Naruto, the last of the strongest sealing clan." Naruto's jaw dropped.

_Tsunade baachan, that cheater!_

"You will be raised in secret in our clan, you will be taught how to be a proper husband to my son and the etiquettes of our clan, of course we have decent knowledge of the Uzumaki clan, so if there is anything you have not been taught yet, you will be taught how to be an Uzumaki."

"How to be an Uzumaki? I am an Uzumaki and I don't need an _Uchiha_ to tell me how to be one. And what the hell is this about getting married, Tsunade baachan? Like hell I'm going to-"

"I take it that you would rather let the Uzumaki name fade away, everything about them will be forgotten. Are you really OK with that?" Fugaku cut in, his eyes almost piercing through Naruto's soul. Naruto swallowed, Naruto loved his clan so much, he had so many beloved people in his clan all taken from him in one night. He treasured his clan more than anything. Naruto stuck his chin out, glaring at Fugaku, his eyes swimming with flames.

"I'll do this for my clan, nothing else." Naruto spat out. Fugaku smirked and Naruto almost felt like hiding in fear. So this was the power an Uchiha had, the power to induce fear with simple expressions.

"We're coming in," an excited female voice said. Shizune squeezed Naruto's hand and Naruto remembered what that meant. He instantly lowered his eyes. The door slid open and Naruto heard three pairs of feet. "You can look up."

Naruto slowly looked up. There was an older woman who seemed to be Fugaku's wife, a male who seemed about five years older than Naruto. Naruto saw a boy his age, dressed in yukata, his face expressionless. Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

"Welcome, I am Uchiha Mikoto."

"Uchiha Itachi."

"I am Uchiha Sasuke." The youngest said. Naruto realized his position instantly and he bowed his head.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto slowly looked up. Mikoto beamed at him and Itachi was smiling. Sasuke simply glared at him. Naruto felt dread fill him. His husband to be hated his guts and Naruto was already starting to be drawn in by him.

Forget being an Uzumaki, he had to get out of this house as fast as possible. He could tell staying in this house was not going to do him any good, it would only crush him.

"Well then, we'll leave him to you." Tsunade smiled, getting up and motioning for Shizune to follow her. Naruto panicked instantly.

"Wait, Tsunade baachan, what are you talking about? You can't leave me here!" Naruto cried out.

"What are _you_ talking about, Naruto? You're in the custody of the Uchihas now." Tsunade said.

"Don't worry, Naruto kun. Everything will be alright." Shizune smiled at him and let go of his hand. desperately, Naruto tried to grab it again, but Shizune was already standing by Tsunade's side.

"Thank you for paying us a visit, Tsunade sama." Fugaku said.

"Oh no, it was nothing. Thank you for taking this brat under your wing." And with that Tsunade was gone. Naruto sat there, heart pounding in his chest. Every cell in his body was tingling in fear. Naruto didn't trust anyone. Was there any guarantee, the agreement that was spoken of was real and not fabricated? There wasn't a single Uzumaki to say so. Naruto's stomach chose that time to growl. Naruto's face reddened.

"Naruto kun, have you had dinner yet?" Mikoto smiled at him.

"No, Mikoto san..." Naruto said weakly.

"He's so sweet! Itachi, can you get what's left of our dinner?" Mikoto asked.

"Yes, mother." Itachi got to his feet and went to a different part of house.

"I will attend to my work, see to him." Fugaku left the room as well.

"So, Naruto kun, what are your hobbies?" Mikoto asked. Naruto blinked at her.

"Um, I like to practice my clan's sealing jutsus..." Naruto mumbled.

"Oh yes, of course! That's very admirable. As wonderful our clan is, we have very few sealing jutsus and only a few can use them. The rest use normal sealing tags. I find it amazing that you can use the Uzumaki clan jutsus at your age, Naruto kun." Mikoto said. "Isn't he just wonderful, Sasuke kun?" Mikoto turned to her son. Naruto looked at Sasuke, wanting to hear some form of acknowledgement.

"Who cares if he can use sealing jutsus? In actual combat, he'll turn out useless." Sasuke scoffed. "I'm going back to my room." Sasuke got up and walked out. Naruto sighed. What was he expecting, really? He continued to stare at the table.

"I apologize about his behaviour. He isn't sure how to take all of this. Give him just a little bit of time and I'm sure he'll warm up to you. He really is a delightful boy." Mikoto said apologetically. Itachi chose that moment to walk in with Naruto's food. Naruto's mouth watered. He hadn't had a meal like this in six years.

"Thank you for the food..." Naruto said before he practically devoured everything in sight. Mikoto and Itachi watched him in amusement. When Naruto was done he sat there awkwardly. He had no idea what to do. With people like Tsunade, Fugaku and Shizune he knew exactly what to do. But Itachi and Mikoto just sat there smiling at him, looking like they had just saved a starving kitten, not that they were far off.

"Are you tired Naruto kun? We've already prepared your bed."

More than anything else, Naruto just wanted to run away. Everything in him knew staying in this house was a bad idea, but he had eaten so much after such a long time and his eyes were drooping. He had a full stomach and he was tired from all the dramatics that had happened that day. Naruto was about to topple over in exhaustion when Itachi caught him. Itachi and Mikoto carried him to a room and put him down on a futon. Naruto was asleep before they even said goodnight.

-o-

Naruto curled up in his warm bed and he smelt the food his mother was making. In just a bit she would come and wake him up. His dad would teach him more things that day. But first, Naruto wanted to sleep a little more. Curl up in that futon and just sleep. Wait! He didn't have a futon! His parents were dead! Naruto's eyes shot open. He was in the Uchiha compound. He quickly scrambled to his feet. No, there was no way he was staying. He wasn't going to let anyone tame him and turn him into bride material. He ran to the window and jumped out. There were huge walls around the place, but there was a tree he could use to scale the wall. He'd have to climb in his yukata, who cared if it got ruined.

"Where did Naruto go?" he heard Fugaku's voice. Naruto cursed under his breath and started climbing the tree. Oh wow, climbing a tree had never been so difficult before. Maybe it was because he was practically trembling in fear at the thought of being caught by the Uchiha patriarch. That was one man Naruto knew he shouldn't make angry. "Naruto!" Fugaku's voice bellowed from straight beneath him. Yelping, Naruto lost his footing and crashed into the ground. Naruto let out a hiss of pain. "Come," Fugaku grabbed his arm, yanked him up and dragged him with him. Mikoto and Itachi were sitting on the porch and Sasuke was standing in the garden.

"Naruto kun, you're hurt!" Mikoto cried in concern.

"You don't need to be bothered with someone like me." Naruto spat out. The back of his head was smacked.

"You seem to have no manners." Fugaku said. "Do we need to drill manners into you as well?" Naruto glared at the ground. Who was he kidding? He was in the Uchiha compound. There were Uchiha's left and right. There was no way he could have even gotten halfway to the gates. He was so scared. "Sasuke kun will test your strength now. According to your strength, we will decide a training schedule for you, you will be trained in a way that you will be able to pass the genin exams in three more months. Once you become genin, we'll change your training schedule to coincide with your teacher so that you may become worthy of being in the Uchiha family." Naruto hesitantly looked up at his fiancé. Sasuke smirked at him and Naruto prayed he wasn't blushing because that smile should have been made illegal for its knee melting ability.

"Let's see what your oh-so-amazing sealing jutsus from your so called legendary clan can do." Sasuke said coldly. Naruto's eyes narrowed. He did not just insult his clan.

"Start!" Fugaku called.

"You will apologize for belittling my clan!" Naruto screamed running forward.

-o-

Naruto was knocked down for the hundredth time that day. He couldn't even move a finger. Sasuke put his foot on Naruto's chest, looking down at him, ice in his eyes. It should be a sin, Naruto's barely conscious mind thought, demons like him shouldn't be allowed to have such good looking faces. Naruto hated Sasuke, hated him so badly. Sasuke gave him the tiniest smirk and Naruto's bloodied lip lifted in a snarl.

"Is that all you've got, Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked coldly. Naruto growled and Sasuke pressed his foot harder on Naruto's chest. Naruto choked and coughed up blood. Sasuke pulled away, wiping his foot on the grass. "There is no way I am teaching this... _thing_." Sasuke turned and walked off.

"Very well then, we'll leave him to you, Itachi." Fugaku said and left. Mikoto and Itachi were instantly running towards Naruto who was blankly staring up at the sky, slipping in an out of consciousness. Mikoto picked Naruto up in her arms.

"Itachi, get the medicine kit, now!" Itachi ran off and Mikoto carried Naruto into the house, took off what was left of his yukata, filled the tub with warm water and special healing salts and then put Naruto into it. Naruto sank into it like a boneless fish. Itachi walked in and winced. Naruto was covered in bruises, cuts and burn marks, his eyes were unfocused and blearily staring off into the distance. The bath was almost instantly filled with blood and dirt. Once they were done treating his wounds and bandaging him, they put him back down on his futon and let him sleep.

Naruto only woke up the next day, thanks to the Kyuubi, most of his wounds were almost healed. Mikoto was the one who took him to the breakfast table. He was told Sasuke had already left to the academy. Fugaku was about to leave for work when Mikoto put Naruto's breakfast in front of him.

"From now on you will train with Itachi. You're lucky he has a three day holiday because of an injury and strain to his eyes. But otherwise he will be plenty busy. Make a schedule with him today and start training so that even on days Itachi is not there, you will be able to train." Fugaku said.

Mikoto looked concerned about Naruto's body but didn't say a word. She knew that Naruto needed to get used to this. It wasn't like an Uchiha to get soft on anyone.

"I understand." Naruto muttered.

"Call me father from now on."

Naruto almost glared at the man. There was no way Fugaku even thought he could replace Naruto's father. Naruto's father was someone Fugaku wouldn't even be able to compare to. Naruto closed his eyes and prayed for patience. Yes, people called their in-laws like that didn't they. Fugaku would be an in law when Naruto turned twenty five.

"Yes, father."

Fugaku was gone.

"Mikoto san, why don't any of you seem bothered by the fact that I'm a jinchuuriki?" Naruto whispered.

"Why would I be?" Mikoto laughed. "That would mean that I'd have been uncomfortable around my best friend!"

Naruto blinked at her.

"Don't you know, sweetheart? Kushina, the former jinchuuriki, your mother was my best friend." Mikoto grinned. Naruto stared at her, suddenly feeling warm and safe. His mother's friend would never let anything happen to him, that was what she had told him. "I hope you can get along with my family the way the two of us did."

A memento of his mother. Mikoto was his mother's best friend. If so, he would try his hardest to live up to Mikoto's expectations. He was entrusted to Mikoto, that meant she was his foster mother. Naruto would not let his mother or Mikoto down. He would survive this.

"That's quite the determined look on your face! Eat up quickly and we'll go and train." Itachi said.

"Yes, Itachi niisan!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, OK. This is my first Sasunaru fic and my second Naruto fic. How is it? It's a fanfic in which the Uzumaki clan moved to Konoha before they were attacked and the Kyuubi attack annihilated them and Naruto was five when that happened. The Uchiha massacre doesn't take place.


	2. Chapter 2

"And then he kicked straight through the window like an idiot-"

"Sakura chan, did you call me out a twelve thirty in the night, right after I came from a one week mission just so that you could complain to me about Sai's stupidity?" Naruto sighed. His best friend, a.k.a Haruno Sakura, a.k.a his fake crush sat across from him, completely drunk and annoyed. Sakura threw him a look and then snorted.

"Of course I did, I've got no one else to complain to, you're there whenever I need you, retard. Plus, I called you out so I could take a look at your wounds too." Sakura pulled him closer with her inhumane strength and took a look at him, scanning him from head to toe.

"Are you sure you should try and heal me when you're drunk?" Naruto asked her uncertainly. The last time she had tried to do anything to him drunk she had thrown him half way across the village because he told her very nicely that no, he hadn't dated a single person in his entire life. She had been trying to hit his back in disbelief but instead had sent him flying.

"My medical ninjutsu works better when I'm drunk anyway. Shut up and sit still," she muttered. Naruto sighed. Sakura was way too much like her teacher, Tsunade. He let her do as she wished. She tsked and mumbled something about how stupid he was to let his face get hurt when he wasn't even good looking in the first place. Naruto didn't let it bother him, Sakura spouted all kinds of nonsense when she was drunk.

Naruto had taken the genin exam and had pretended to have just barely passed. Being an idiot would make people think even less that he was associated with Sasuke or the Uchihas in general, right? In order to further distance himself for the Uchihas, he pretended to have a crush on Haruno Sakura. His efforts all went to waste anyway when he ended on the same team as Sasuke. Sakura at first treated him like trash, but over the years they became best friends of sorts. Most people wondered if they were in a relationship when they first saw them, but no, Sakura saw him as a twin brother kind of figure and everyone knew she liked Sasuke.

"So you haven't even had your first kiss yet?" Sakura asked.

"No," Naruto muttered.

"Are you a seventeen year old jounin Naruto because you sure as hell don't seem like one to me! The Uzumaki clan was very prestigious, Kakashi sensei will make you carry out your duties as the last member. And that means you must be married by the age of twenty five. Are you trying to stay innocent or something?" Sakura growled. Naruto chose to ignore her ranting. It wasn't like he didn't like anyone, he had an unrequited love and that was why he hadn't dated anyone before. An unrequited love for six whole years. On Uchiha Sasuke, his secret fiancé. Annoying as hell because Sasuke treated him like he was some random annoying person on the street, Naruto had fallen in love with the asshole. "Do not glare at me like that, I've been telling you that you're not good looking enough for people to overlook your jinchuuriki status for five years now!" Sakura snapped at him.

"I'm not glaring at you, Sakura. I'm just reminded of an idiot's face." Naruto muttered.

"Idiot as in Sasuke kun?" Sakura asked, her mind as sharp as ever,

"Genius, Sakura." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh hey, speak of the devil." Sasuke chose that moment to walk over to them, hands in his pockets, his jounin vest was dirty, a little torn and a little blood stained. Blood was oozing lazily from a cut on his arm. Naruto's eyes widened in concern. "Woah, hey, the moron is hurt way more than I am. Take a look at him, Sakura, before he makes this restaurant smell like blood." Naruto was an expert at masking his emotions and while he sounded like he was being annoying to Sasuke, he was just really worried.

"Sasuke kun? What happened to you? You look like you knocked into ANBU from another country." Sakura sat Sasuke down. Sasuke didn't say a word and just let Sakura heal him. Naruto tried not to look at him. Naruto loved Sakura as a best friend and sister, but there wasn't a day he didn't get jealous of the way she could be so close to Sasuke. Of course, it was partly his fault that he and Sasuke just didn't get along and he couldn't behave like Sakura. Well, excuse him, in order to keep their relationship under wraps, Naruto pretended that he hated the guy. Not that he didn't, he really hated Sasuke, but he was in love with him too. It was complicated.

"The two of you shouldn't be out so late at night, whether you're jounins or not. Things could get out of hand if Lee or Neji saw the two of you." Sasuke said dully. He shot Naruto a look. Naruto instantly lowered his eyes. Oh god, Mikoto and Itachi were probably worried about him because he didn't come home on time. They must have sent Sasuke to look for him even though Sasuke just got back from a mission. Good Shodai, he was stupid.

"Aw, come on, Sasuke kun. I'm the one that called Naruto out, I was leaving Kakashi sensei's office when Naruto came back and I called him out for a drink and to heal him." Sakura grinned drunkenly at Naruto. "After all, I only have Naruto. I wouldn't be able to survive without the brat." Naruto's eyes widened.

Oh god no, Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. Even an emotionally impaired person could tell Sasuke liked Sakura but was too retarded to realize it or say anything about it. Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, face expressionless, Naruto unobtrusively swallowed. Then Sasuke turned to Sakura who was wrapping Sasuke's arm in bandage she carried around.

"Sakura, don't spout nonsense like that. You can do better than Naruto. I'll drop you off at home, and _you_ , GO HOME." Sasuke snapped at him. Naruto almost flinched.

"Teme, I don't need you to tell me that." Naruto growled at Sasuke. A confused and drunk Sakura was led away by Sasuke before Naruto could even say goodbye or goodnight. The moment Naruto entered the house, Mikoto wrapped her arms around him and Itachi stood up from his seat at the table.

"There you are, Naruto! I got worried, the Rokudaime said that you'd be back in the morning, but then you didn't return!" Mikoto said looking upset. Naruto looked down at her, feeling guilty. Ever since Mikoto had declared herself his foster mom she had started spoiling him rotten in any way she could, getting worried about him, showering praise and love on him, taking care of his smallest hurts and comforting him when he needed it. Well at least as much as an Uchiha mother could spoil him. Itachi rarely let his mother get concerned about him, or anything of the sort and Sasuke just utterly hated it when his mom spoilt him or acted like such a _mom_. Naruto on the other hand, loved it.

"Sorry mom, Sakura chan called me out as soon as I reported, I should have come here right after I was done reporting." Naruto said.

"No, no, no. It's alright for you to have fun with your friends, just please send a message home instead, is that okay?" Mikoto asked Naruto. Naruto nodded with a smile. "Alright, off to bed." Naruto shook his head, still smiling softly at his foster mother.

"I'll wait up for Sasuke to return from dropping off Sakura so we can eat dinner." Naruto told her. Naruto had learned his etiquette well, or more like, Fugaku pounded it into him. Naruto started voluntarily learning it after he realized that more than anything else he wanted Sasuke to look at him, he thought if he could just be more like the person he was asked to be, Sasuke would accept him. Not that he was faking or anything, although he had learned what he needed to do, Naruto never let anyone rid him of his personality and while other Uchihas sometimes complained about it, Fugaku told them quite clearly _he was proud of his son's individuality_. Naruto had almost cried when Fugaku said it.

"Why don't you just eat first? Itachi and I can wait for Sasuke," Mikoto said.

"Nah, It's my duty, isn't it? You go to sleep, mom. Itachi niisan, you should sleep too." Naruto ushered Mikoto to her room and bid her and Itachi goodnight. Then he sat at the table waiting for Sasuke to come home. It wasn't exactly his duty to wait for Sasuke, but Sasuke was going to come back and it wouldn't be good if no one was waiting for him and he didn't eat dinner. Naruto knew Sasuke hated eating alone. When Naruto felt Sasuke's chakra outside the house he realized he had fallen asleep waiting for Sasuke. He tried to check the time and realized it was one forty-five. Sasuke walked in and Naruto shot to his feet. "Ah, you're back. Let's have dinner." Naruto said trying not to get excited.

"I already had it at Sakura's place." Sasuke told him, throwing his jounin vest, weapons pouch and provisions bag at Naruto. Naruto caught them and felt his happy mood fade away instantly. "Make sure that all of that is ready tomorrow morning." Sasuke said and continued on his way to his room.

"Sure..." Naruto said. Naruto sighed, who was he kidding? He walked to the bathroom to clean Sasuke's vest and weapons. He finished cleaning them and then he repaired what he had to. He put them out to dry all lined up next to each other and then went to the table wondering if he should eat. Naruto sat at the table and then shook his head. The problem was, he hated eating alone too. He took out a cup of ramen, cooked it and quickly ate it, not caring if it burnt his mouth. Shodai, he was stupid, stupid, stupid! Did he really think that Sasuke would eat with him? Once he was done eating he sat by the drying articles. Once the weapons were dried he packed them into the pouch. He refilled Sasuke's provision bag and as he waited for the jounin vest to dry, he nodded off to sleep.

-o-

"Naruto, oi, Naruto." Naruto woke up with a start. Indents from the porch floor on his face. Naruto saw who it was. He groaned and put his head back down again.

"Oh, it's just Shisui niisan and Obito sensei." Naruto mumbled.

"We found him!" Shisui yelled. Naruto started again and was surprised when Mikoto suddenly threw herself at him.

"There you are, Naruto! Everyone's been looking for you and Itachi sent me a note saying that I should wake you up, but I couldn't find you anywhere! What on earth are you doing on the porch outside? You'll get sick!"

"Huh? I was waiting for Sasuke things to dry..." Naruto whipped around to look for Sasuke's things only to discover they were gone. "Sasuke's things have been stolen! On my guard? He's going to kill me! He has a mission today and-" Naruto began to panic.

"Naruto, Sasuke already left for his mission, with his things..." Mikoto said softly, her eyes downcast. Naruto blinked at her. "I'm sorry..." Naruto slowly sank back down to the ground. Shisui and Obito exchanged looks before looking at Naruto with pity. Most of the Uchihas already knew quite well that Naruto was in love with Sasuke.

"Oh..." was all Naruto could utter. "I see..." It wasn't anything Naruto wasn't used to. This happened a lot, being forgotten, left behind and ridiculed by Sasuke. Only the Uchihas knew this of course. "Then I'll just go get ready, Itachi niisan needs me, right?" Naruto gave a bright smile. The Uchihas who were very good at schooling facial expressions could tell it was a fake smile. Naruto got to his feet and started to go to his room.

"Naruto!" Mikoto said urgently. Naruto turned to look at her. "I'll...I'll talk to Sasuke..." Mikoto said. Naruto smiled at her.

"You don't have to, Sasuke would only hate me more if you did." Naruto ran to his room, grabbed his clothes and toothbrush and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Naruto stood there, his chest tight. How could he still let these things get to him even after all these years? They happened a bit, most of the time Sasuke only made fun of him but of late Sasuke's mean side was becoming rampant. He quickly stepped into the bath, sighing as he sank his sore and tired body into the hot water of the tub. He quickly washed himself up, remembering that Itachi was looking for him or to be exact, everyone was looking for him for some reason. He got ready and ran out. "I'm going, mom!" He called.

"Wait, Naruto!" Naruto stopped and Mikoto ran over to him, a smile on her face. She shoved a sandwich into his mouth. "You haven't had breakfast yet and you won't skip it on my guard." She kissed his cheek. "Have a good day," Naruto grinned widely, all of his worries forgotten instantly.

"I will, see you mom." Naruto then rushed out, taking a separate route to get out, like he always did so that the rest of Konoha wouldn't find out that he was living with the Uchihas. Yeah, he had no idea everything was about to go the wrong way.

-o-

"We-we need what?" Naruto practically yelled. All of his friends, former classmates and other people around his age turned towards him. Shikamaru sighed and almost face palmed. Why did he have to explain the whole troublesome thing to Naruto again? Curse the Rokudaime for this. Naruto was almost red to his ears.

"Yes, Naruto, because we are all seventeen or above this year, we are required to have a date if we want to attend the Hanabi Festival. We will be checked on arrival by two skilled ANBU members." Shikamaru repeated. Naruto wanted to gape at Shikamaru, completely red. A date? A date? Naruto hadn't even held anyone's hand other than his family, Shizune, Mikoto and Itachi. What was Kakashi sensei doing? Naruto groaned, he was probably just looking for a way to get Iruka sensei to agree to be his date for Hanabi. Already people were whispering at each other and inviting each other. Couples were smiling at each other and Naruto just stood there dumbly. Everyone started to disperse and Sakura grabbed his arm and dragged him out to her favourite dango place.

"Why are we getting dates? Sakura chan, I can't do this!" Naruto wailed.

"It's not a date, Naruto, you're just asking someone who you think is attractive to just accompany you to see the Hanabi." Sakura rolled her eyes. Naruto blinked. Attractive...Sasuke. But honestly, like hell Sasuke would go with him. Attractive... "Are you going to eat your dango or not?" Sakura snapped at him, her mouth stuffed with dango and spilling crumbs very _unattractively_. Naruto grinned widely.

"Sakura chan about the Hanabi, will you go with-" Naruto began.

"Going with Sasuke kun, I heard from Shikamaru about this early in the morning and so I asked Sasuke kun before he went for him mission." Sakura waved her hand at him. "Although he was so unenthusiastic about it. He was like 'Hn, sure, whatever' and he looked like his brain was else where...wait! Did he agree without even listening to me? That stupid duck butt..." Naruto's smile faded. Oh, that was right...Of course Sasuke and Sakura were going together. Naruto tried to pick up the pace of the conversation again.

"Then Ino-"

"She's going with Sai, honestly Naruto, did you not notice the two of them have been dancing around each other lately?" Sakura asked.

"Then if _I_ ask, surely Hina-"

"She's going with Kiba, the dog boy beat you to it. If you want to ask shy and timid people, try to get to them before anyone else can."

"Tenten-"

"For the last time Naruto, Tenten is dating Neji, how many times have I told you?"

"Temar-"

"She's all the way in Suna, Great Rikudou, and you think she would go with anybody other than Shikamaru in the first place?"

"Karui-"

"She's in Kumogakure! Stop spouting nonsense, Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "Isn't there anyone you like?" Yeah, Sakura could so tell that he wasn't actually in love with her. Naruto sighed.

Well, he liked...Sasuke. Why, people might ask. Sasuke wasn't even nice to him at all. Mikoto had asked him once why he liked Sasuke and honestly, when Naruto had met first Sasuke, he had been enamoured by his looks quite like Sakura had been at first, who wouldn't have been? But even Naruto wasn't stupid enough to lay his foundation on that. Naruto hated Sasuke at first with a passion, trying to kill him at any given chance. But he started just taking everything like a punching bag when he resigned and decided there was no use fighting against the Uchihas and his fate - Rikudou, he sounded like Neji - he actually started watching Sasuke. Sasuke tried to act cold and indifferent on the outside but then that was mostly because he tried to be an 'Uchiha' like his father, was there even anyone who could be like Fugaku? He developed a cold exterior because people made fun of him for not being a proper Uchiha who could control his emotions, only the Uchiha kids made fun of him for that though.

So Naruto started looking at the little things and within a year he had all of Sasuke's little quirks and slipups. The only person Sasuke treated like a rival shinobi from Amegakure was Naruto. Through the years Naruto had seen those little gestures and fleet moments in which Sasuke's facade broke. That honest smile on his face when he'd help little kids, his precious laugh when he and Itachi would joke by themselves, the care with which he would take care of one of the wounded cats, the seriousness on his face when he'd protect his teammates - and that included Naruto - and how fierce and scary he got if someone around him got hurt. Naruto loved it all, but Sasuke loathed him. Naruto really wondered what made Sasuke that way. Itachi seemed to have an idea about it, but no one else knew. One day Sasuke just...changed. Naruto finally deduced it was because Sasuke didn't want to marry him, he was in love with Sakura after all, wouldn't you be pissed off if your fiancé got in the way of your love? Especially if your fiancé is the last person you would marry? But Sasuke had interesting moments with Naruto too, moments in which he saved Naruto from getting hurt on a mission or when he's give Naruto some of his food because _Naruto, your stupidity shouldn't ruin the mission_. Naruto understood it and although it hurt, he could only chase hopelessly after Sasuke.

"Naruto! Naruto baka! How many times have I called your name?" Sakura snapped, whacking him on the back of his head.

"Ow, ow! Sorry!" Naruto cried.

"Just ask one of the guys, right? The guys wouldn't mind going with you, I know like ten different guys in Konoha who really want to kiss you." Sakura shrugged. Naruto went red again, slapping his hands over his mouth. No way! "Do not make that face, you look like a twelve year old girl!" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"OK...I'll ask a couple of them..." Naruto said meekly.

"That's the way! Naruto who doesn't try hard isn't Naruto!" Sakura grinned.

"Sakura chan..." Naruto said, touched. If it was his best friend, maybe Naruto wouldn't mind handing Sasuke over.

-o-

"Failure, I'm such a failure..." Naruto sighed as he studied the scroll on his lap, practicing the hand signs for one of the complicated Uzumaki sealing spells. It was an interesting spell that dealt with sealing memories. It was extremely fascinating and the only problem was that the moment he had started practicing it, he had been getting an awful headache and his brain felt fuzzy. He had searched high and low for a date and Naruto didn't want to go with any of the guys who came hunting for him. The whole lot of them were perverts and one had actually tried to feel Naruto up. Naruto was traumatized and the guy ended up in the hospital after being slammed with a rasengan. Oh well, this year he probably couldn't go to the Hanabi.

"Oi, usuratonkachi." Sasuke threw a kunai at him and Naruto instantly dodged, letting out a shriek of surprise when it missed his face by an inch.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Naruto cried in horror.

"If I wanted to I would've done that a long time ago, idiot, I'm more than capable of kicking your sorry ass." Sasuke muttered. And there were times like this, when Sasuke realized he existed and actually said a handful of words to him, for Naruto, it was like a crack in Sasuke's mask and the side that saw Naruto as a teammate and not fiancé came out. And Sasuke only behaved like this when it was just the two of them which made Naruto feel like he had seen a side of Sasuke that no one else had. "And I think you're pretty capable of dodging a kunai by yourself, dobe, unless you feel like going back to academy?" Naruto bristled.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"Nothing, just wasting my time, what the hell are you doing, are you going to get ready for Hanabi or not?" Sasuke asked. Naruto chuckled awkwardly before becoming depressed instantly.

"I don't have a Hanabi date..." Naruto said.

"Well obviously, who would want to go with you?" Sasuke snickered after a pause of two seconds. "Why do you even need a Hanabi date? You know you're just going to get rejected because you have nothing on you, nothing."

"I'll let you know, Kakashi Sensei said that unless people seventeen and above have a date, they won't be allowed to watch Hanabi! He's even got ANBU patrolling!" Naruto cried, furiously. Everyone knew how much Naruto loved festivals and fireworks. Sasuke blinked blankly at him.

"So just don't go," Sasuke shrugged. "Retard,"

"Naruto, are you done with your practice?" Itachi jumped onto the wall. Instantly Sasuke was back to his cold self. He would be normal with Itachi, but he would treat Naruto with disdain. "There you are, Sasuke."

"I'm going to go get ready, niisan, you coming?" Sasuke asked, taking his kunai.

"Maybe," Itachi said.

"I'm almost done," Naruto told Itachi as Sasuke went into the house to get ready. Itachi sat next to Naruto and watched Naruto as he practiced. Itachi had once tried imitating the sealing techniques after watching Naruto but had failed. Fugaku had later explained that the Uzumaki sealing techniques were almost like a bloodline limit, unless you were an Uzumaki it was extremely difficult to pull off their techniques, Uzumaki chakra was different and special.

"Why are you so depressed?" Itachi asked. "Did Sasuke say something?"

"No, I'm just tired." Naruto shook his head, a soft smile on his face.

"Come on, tell your niisan! You can't hide anything from me!" Itachi declared.

"I can't attend Hanabi, I don't have a date..." Naruto mumbled.

"Ah, then go with me!" Itachi grinned. Naruto stared at Itachi.

"What about your date, niisan?" Naruto asked.

"I'm still looking for one, want to go with me, Naruto?" Itachi asked. Naruto's eyes instantly brightened.

"Yes! Yes! I want to go with you, niisan! I love you!" Naruto threw himself at Itachi.

"Hahaha, don't say that or Sasuke will get jealous," Itachi chuckled.

"Ma~ Itachi niisan, don't tease me like that!" Naruto pouted.

And a disastrous evening started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke does not hate Naruto, hopefully this chapter made it clear that although Sasuke may have hated Naruto before at the moment he clearly does not, he gets pissed off at Naruto when Naruto becomes really close with others and Sasuke doesn't know why he gets pissed off which just makes him more pissed off, we all know how he is. Sasuke has a reason for being an ass which I have not explained yet. Naruto has an OK reason to be in love with Sasuke but for those who think it isn't, there's more coming, a mystery I don't want to reveal yet, so please don't be too mean in the comments, I know Naruto is being unreasonable but it's only the second chapter guys! And, for those who were concerned, I'm rather fond of sort of sadistic Sasuke. Thanks guys!


	3. Chapter 3

"They have spicy dango?" Itachi's eyes almost shot out of his sockets. Itachi never showed that much emotion when in public, but when he was with Naruto, he tended to freely show his emotions. Naruto chuckled and watched Itachi look at the different kinds of dango. Itachi was such a dango fan. Naruto looked around, so far all he had seen were the older people in the village and none of them were paying attention to them. "I'm bought the spicy dango." Itachi was by Naruto's side again. Naruto was wearing one of Sasuke's yukata's since he hadn't bought one. Naruto wasn't fond of yukatas and he had outgrown the ones he had been forced to buy. Sasuke didn't know he was wearing his yukata so Naruto hoped they wouldn't knock into him. Itachi was tearing up and trying to be discreet about it. Like hell, he could hide anything from Naruto, even if he could hide it from the rest of the world.

"Itachi niisan, whoever invented this spicy dango was so out to get you..." Naruto shook his head.

"Woah! Spicy dango! Oh! Naruto!" Naruto turned and saw Sakura. He was mind blown. She looked gorgeous. She wore a wine red yukata that hugged all of her curves in the right places, her hair was done up and cherry blossoms were tucked into her hair for decoration. She wore no jewellery or make up and yet she looked so beautiful. Come to think of it, Sakura was a huge dango fan as well. "You look amazing, Naruto! I haven't seen you in a yukata since the time Jiraiya sama forced you into one!"

"You look beautiful too, Sakura." Naruto grinned widely.

"Oh, hello Itachi san!" Sakura bowed quickly. "What's ANBU legend doing with you?" Sakura whispered furiously at Naruto. Naruto blinked, he didn't know that Sakura knew that Itachi was ANBU, most of Konoha only knew him as a very powerful jounin, powerful enough to be the next hokage, but Konoha had that thing with being iffy about Uchihas because of the wars from long back. Jeez, why couldn't they forget past grudges?

"Oh, I'm Naruto's date today," Itachi told Sakura plainly, yeah, Itachi wasn't one to easily display his emotions in front of people other than his family. _Uchihas_...Sakura almost choked.

"You're Naruto's date, even though he's dumb and not that good looking? I find it difficult to believe an Uchiha would agree to be Naruto's date!" Sakura said.

"Well, I was the one who asked him...plus, he's pretty smart, he just doesn't show it and he's pretty cute." Itachi said, ruffling Naruto's head, a soft smile on his face. Naruto pulled away in protest, quickly trying to put his hair back into place.

"Cute? I'm cute? That's unfair!" Naruto snapped. Sakura was staring speechlessly at them.

"Thank you!" Sakura instantly bowed. Both Naruto and Itachi turned to Sakura in surprise. "Thank you for accepting Naruto as he is and looking past the fact that he's a jinchuuriki. I've always been worried about him finding someone for himself because Naruto is special, you know, he needs the right person. He is amazing, but no one ever notices. He's smart, hard working, cute, determined, stubborn and well mannered even though he grew up without parents. No one ever sees this and it broke my heart, so thank you Itachi san for looking at him for who he is." Naruto stared at her and felt tears sting his eyes. Naruto loved Sakura, he really did, if she truly loved Sasuke, he knew he would give him up to her.

"Oh, it's nothing big, really! Thank you for taking care of Naruto." A clearly flustered Itachi bowed back to Sakura. Both of them straightened up and then Sakura smiled.

"There you are, Sasuke kun! Were you standing there the entire time?" Sakura said looking behind Naruto and Itachi. Naruto went cold. Madara, he had forgotten to put Sasuke into the equation. Forget the fact that he was wearing one of Sasuke's yukata's, Naruto wasn't supposed to be connected to the Uchihas through any other way than Sasuke, Sasuke would kill him if people found out something fishy was going on.

"Yeah," Sasuke's voice said. He shoved Naruto out of the way. "Move, dobe. I got your choco bananas, Sakura." Sasuke said.

"Wah, thank you!" Sakura said. Sasuke turned to look at a pale Naruto and Itachi who was looking rather wistfully at the dango stand even though he had just murdered his taste buds with the spicy dango. Sasuke scanned Naruto from head to toe before turning to Itachi.

"Niisan, what are you doing with an idiot like him?" Sasuke asked.

"Aw, come on Sasuke, I asked him. Who can resist this kid and his eyes?" Itachi asked like his normal self, quite forgetting that he had to compose himself like an Uchiha in front of Sakura. Sasuke's eye visibly twitched and Sakura squealed in utter delight.

"Oh my goodness, Sasuke kun, aren't they just perfect for each other?" Sakura asked, nudging Sasuke.

"No way, my niisan can do much better than Naruto." Sasuke practically glared at Naruto. Naruto tried not to shrink away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto snapped, trying to be brave because of Sakura's presence.

"I meant what I said, dobe, you will never fit in with the Uchihas, jinchuuriki trash." Sasuke spat out. The four of them went silent in shock. Sasuke's eyes widened as he seemed to realize what he had just said. Naruto was used to comments like this from other villagers, but even Sasuke never sunk that low. Naruto was that close to falling to his knees and hyperventilating. Itachi was exuding a dark aura, looking at Sasuke with cold eyes. Sakura looked so horrified that she almost seemed ready to slap Sasuke. Sasuke himself had a horrified look on his face, he looked like he would do anything to take those words back.

"Sa-sasuke kun!" Sakura practically screamed. "Apologize! Apologize at once!" Sakura was about to grab his collar when Itachi grabbed Sasuke's arm in a vice like grip. Sasuke was still standing motionlessly with shock.

"Sasuke, come with me right now." Itachi ordered. His voice had the tone Fugaku used when he was furious. Naruto was standing there, stock still, his body only shaking with occasional tremors. Sakura turned to him, looking like she was having a panic attack.

"Naruto? Sit down here. I'll get you some water, oh, the dango stand has water. Here, drink up. Are you OK? Do you want some dango? Ramen? They have a pretty good ramen stand down the street, Chouji was hogging the food over there." Sakura fussed over him and when Naruto didn't utter a sound she panicked even more. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Naruto! I don't know what came over Sasuke kun! Did he become retarded today? I'm so sorry, Naruto!" Naruto slowly looked up at her and then smiled.

"I'm OK, Sakura chan, I'm used to it." Sakura looked devastated, anguished and angry.

"Never say that again! I'll never let anyone insult you like that again even if it's the Mizukage. I swear by the Yondaime, I'll punch the next person who does that, _with chakra in my fist_." Sakura growled. She pulled Naruto into her arms. "You're one of the most amazing people I know, Naruto. I'm going to make people realize you're more than just the Uzumaki jinchuuriki legacy." Sakura whispered.

Why couldn't Naruto have just fallen in love with Sakura? There was also something he couldn't explain about why he was in love with Sasuke. It was this fuzzy feeling that Sasuke was different, kinder, cuter, happier, he smiled more and Naruto couldn't explain why he just knew it was like that. When he saw Sasuke, he felt instant attachment as if he had known Sasuke for much longer. He tried to remember if he had known Sasuke before, maybe some random person who had shown him kindness after the Uzumaki clan had fallen. But Naruto came out empty. He would've remembered a face like Sasuke's. When he would try to remember Sasuke, he'd get a headache.

Sasuke and Itachi walked back to them and Sakura turned to Sasuke a furious look on her face. Her fist lit up with chakra.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you're really going to get it from me this time!" Sakura snapped.

"Sakura, would it be OK if Sasuke just apologized?" Itachi asked. Sakura and Naruto almost gaped at the older Uchiha. Sasuke apologize? Unheard of. It might as well start raining pigs. Sasuke didn't even apologize when he almost slaughtered Kiba in a fit of anger. It was impossible, there was no way that _the_ Sasuke would apologize.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. What I said was uncalled for and I didn't really mean it." Sasuke mumbled and then Naruto almost jumped when a tear hit his hand. Naruto raised his hands and rubbed furiously at his eyes. Sakura was gawking at Sasuke like he had just danced for joy. "My parents didn't raise me that way." Naruto almost laughed. So Itachi had threatened Sasuke with Fugaku and Mikoto.

"It's alright," Naruto continued to cry, smiling and crying and he couldn't stop, no matter how hard he tried. Sakura turned to Naruto and let out a cry of surprise. She quickly wrapped Naruto in her arms again and she turned to look at Sasuke.

"See what you did to poor Naruto? Never say something like that again. You may have just wowed the heavens by apologizing, but the next time that happens, you won't have time for an apology. My poor Naruto..." Sakura said. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"So, shall we roam the festival together, I bet we'd amaze the rest of Konoha, four of the most good looking people in Konoha walking together, we'll be the talk of the festival." Itachi said with a smile. Sasuke just grunted and looked away.

"If you let me walk next to Naruto." Sakura said pointedly.

"That's fine by me," Itachi said.

Sasuke was on one side and Sakura was next to him, linking arms with him. Naruto had linked arms with Itachi and he was standing next to Sakura. Naruto had cheered up somewhat. He tried to forget the fact that he was probably angering Sasuke, he was having fun with Itachi and Sakura after all. Itachi was right, people were staring at them, in awe in fact and at the three around Naruto. Naruto knew he probably stuck out like a sore thumb. Suddenly one of the younger girls popped up and let out a shriek.

"Yuri! Yuri! Come here right now! You'll see the most amazing sight in the world!" And then suddenly there were huge crowds of people watching them. Naruto was starting to feel super uncomfortable, he could tell Sakura and Itachi were having the time of their lives trying to look super cool and Sasuke looked as indifferent as usual. Naruto was starting to feel freaked out. Sasuke glanced at Naruto and Naruto looked at him with wide eyes. He snorted at Naruto and went back to his business of studying the stalls.

"Is that the Kyuubi kid?" Naruto heard a voice. Naruto instantly wanted to disappear. "Sasuke sama!" The girls shrieked.

"This is getting annoying as hell..." Sasuke muttered. He sent a trademark Uchiha death glare and the crowd quieted down and quickly dispersed as quickly as humanely possible. "Why the hell were the two of you enjoying that?" Sasuke muttered. Sakura grinned at him and Itachi smirked.

"Cause it's amusing being cool." Both of them said at the same time. Naruto almost face palmed. Sakura and Itachi got along really well and he was standing right in between them. It was like he was stuck in between his two protective older siblings who were twins. Just then Ino and Sai spotted them.

"Oh, so they were the ones causing a fuss," Ino said. She walked over to them and looked up at Naruto curiously right from under his nose. Naruto tried not to look flustered, Ino was weird, demanding and pretty scary for a girl, no wonder Sakura and her were such good friends. "Interesting, Naruto, have you always looked so good in a yukata?" Ino asked. All of them choked and Sai sent Naruto a smile that couldn't mean anything good. "Hm...I understand what those girls were talking about..." She grabbed his jaw and yanked his head down. Naruto almost fell over. Everyone else around him clamoured. "Now that I look at you, you have gotten very good looking." Naruto gulped. She let go of him. "Congratulations Naruto, you just hit popular list. Half the population of teenage girls and above in Konoha want to go out with you!" Ino grinned.

Stunned silence.

Wait, that wasn't right. Naruto was ignored all the time and none of the girls wanted to be his date for the festival. So how had this happened and why? Sakura let had a Cheshire cat grin on her face and she took Ino's arm, looking like she could stop Tsunade from drinking.

"Well, you want to know something, Ino? Those girls can regret for the rest of their lives that they never accepted Naruto cause they're too late!" Sakura laughed evilly. "Too late to come near my Naruto!" Naruto was lost. He was so at loss, his brain wasn't even functioning anymore. People were acting too strange, too many things had happened in one night. Sakura was acting like his older sister, Itachi was acting like a kid, Sasuke had apologized, girls were taking interest in him, Ino was being all crazy on him and Sai looked shit scary while smiling at him. Itachi was called off by someone from ANBU and he told Naruto but Naruto barely heard him. Ino was snapping at Sakura, Sakura looked pure evil, Sai was looking at Ino.

"Oi, dobe." Naruto turned to see Sasuke. "Come with me." Sasuke motioned for Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened. Going somewhere with Sasuke, just the two of them? No way, it meant certain death. Sasuke was mad at him after all. Naruto hesitantly shook his head, no. Sasuke sent him a glare. Swallowing, Naruto glanced at his three friends who were occupied and then went after Sasuke. The two of them were walking down a less crowded street and Naruto was close to panicking. Sasuke hadn't said a word and Naruto could almost feel the dark aura coming off of him. Naruto continued walking silently beside Sasuke. Sasuke led him till they arrived at Naruto's favourite Ramen place and Naruto stood there stock still. Most of the people had already wandered off to other stalls so the Ramen Shop was empty. "Well, are you just going to stand there?" Sasuke snapped at him. Naruto turned to look at the Uchiha, a little confused. "I'm doing you a fucking favour, usuratonkachi. I'm not going to let some kid who is depressed over a bunch of people calling out to him as a jinchuuriki ruin my brother's Hanabi Festival." Sasuke took a seat. "Well, do you want to eat Ramen or not? It usually lifts up your mood, doesn't it?"

It took everything for Naruto keep the wide grin off his face and not jump up and down squealing like a fan girl. Taking a deep breath, he slowly took the seat next to Sasuke. This was Sasuke's personal and heartfelt apology that no one else would see and that was what made it so special. There was no way Naruto was letting a chance like this slip through his fingers.

"I'll have pork first and then miso." Naruto announced.

"For my favourite customer? Coming right up!" Naruto turned to Sasuke a smile on his face.

"Sasuke, thank you-" Naruto began but stopped when he saw the glower directed at him. He quickly ducked his head and turned back to the front. "I'll eat well..." he mumbled. As he waited for the Ramen, he felt the stifling silence. How could he break it? Sasuke didn't seem bothered in the least. So should he just sit there and pretend like he wasn't bothered by it? It wasn't like they really did anything but bicker and throw insults and punches at each other when they actually talked. Having Sasuke next to him so normally was bliss, but why did he feel so lonely? Which was strange because he rarely felt lonely.

_"Stupid, you can't feel lonely if there's no one there!"_

A cheeky child's voice called out. Naruto spun around, his eyes wide, heart pounding in his chest. What was that? Who was that? Why did it feel so familiar? Why did everything in Naruto feel like crying and laughing at the same time? How on earth had his heart rate picked up so fast? Naruto searched for the child only to see the street devoid of anyone below forty years old. That was impossible! Naruto knew it was a little child's voice in close proximity! Only ANBU could have gotten away from him that fast.

"What are you doing, dobe?" Sasuke asked, sounding bland.

"Did you hear that child's voice?" Naruto asked.

"What child, dobe? You're hallucinating now, fantastic." Sasuke returned to playing with the shuriken he was holding. Naruto blinked and then sat down again. He was hallucinating? No that wasn't right. He had definitely heard that voice. Suddenly he saw blond hair in his mind's eye. That Ino! She had done something, hadn't she? It wasn't the first time she had used him as a guinea pig. No wonder Sai was grinning at him like that!

"Here's your ramen!" Naruto cheered happily. He quickly dug in. Eating ramen made him forget the awkward situation there was before and by the time he finished, his miso ramen was put in front of him. Naruto ate it just as eagerly. It was only after he was done did he remember Sasuke was still sitting next to him. Naruto turned to him.

"Uh, are you sure you're OK without having any ramen?" Naruto tentatively asked. Sasuke snorted.

"The stuff is unhealthy. Let's go," Sasuke got up after putting money on the counter and Naruto hurried after. Instead of heading back to the spot where they had left Sakura and Itachi, Sasuke led him further away from people till they were almost walking in the dark with almost no one around. Now Naruto was feeling even more nervous. "We're almost where-"

A firework set off into the sky. Naruto's eyes widened and his face lit up. More fireworks illuminated the sky. Since it was dark where they were and no one was around, the fireworks looked ten times prettier.

"Oh my sannin, this is so beautiful..." Naruto breathed out.

-o-

_"Stupid, you can't feel lonely if there's no one there!"_

_Naruto heard that cheeky voice again and he opened his eyes. He was looking at the face of Sasuke. A Sasuke who was younger than he had ever known. It made his heart hurt for some reason. He couldn't open his mouth to say a word, instead, his body spoke on its own, in the voice he had when he was a child as well._

_"But there are people! Mom, Dad, Karin neechan, Yomo niichan, Taihei, Nagato niichan and Karin neechan's mom, Fuso!" Naruto's little voice snapped._

_"You're more stupid than I thought you were! Clan members don't count. If you never meet anyone from outside, you'll obviously feel lonely and lost when you step out!" Sasuke snickered at him._

_"Well, if there are only people like you outside the clan, then I never want to step outside. I'm much better off than meeting people like you." Naruto snorted._

_"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke screeched, lunging at him._

_"Hey! Don't!" Naruto found himself rolling around and wrestling with the younger Uchiha heir. He was laughing, elated and so was Sasuke. None of their punches or kicks were really damaging, it was like they were a pair of puppies playing. Naruto had never felt this way before, his heart had never felt so free. If this is what it was like outside then he didn't regret-_

-o-

"Oi! Naruto, wake up! How long are you going to sleep. You've been sleeping way too much recently! Is your health OK? Maybe we should have Tsunade look at you!" Shisui marched in screaming at the top of his lungs. Naruto shot up in surprise.

"Eh? Eh? Where did the Hanabi go?" Naruto cried.

"Woah, so it is true!" Shisui said in surprise. Naruto turned to look at him. "Sasuke said that you fainted on the street straight after the fireworks started. He brought you home right away. Itachi was iffy about things, so he looked you over properly, but nothing seemed wrong. But if you're fainting randomly, maybe you should really meet Tsunade sama." Shisui told him.

Naruto sat there blankly for a bit. He had missed the beautiful Hanabi because he randomly passed out on the street? Why on earth did he even pass out. Kurama was fine and the seal wasn't behaving funny either. Was it the memory sealing jutsu? The jutsu was unheard of and Naruto had found it in the Uzumaki stronghold where even the most complicated and incomplete jutsus were kept. Perhaps it was a jutsu truly hard to master. It must have drained quite a bit of his chakra.

"No, I think I'm fine. I was just really tired." Naruto smiled at Shisui.

"Well...if you say so. Anyway, you've been summoned by the rokudaime." Shisui said. Naruto leaped out of his bed. Why was Kakashi sensei summoning him straight after the Hanabi? He had a day off! Naruto was officially off until the genin exams when he would get students! Kakashi had promised because Kurama had been acting up! Cursing under his breath, he ran to get ready and then hurried to the Hokage's office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," Naruto took a deep breath and opened the door, ready to chew out Kakashi sensei the moment he saw him. He stopped in his tracks, there were two ANBU standing there, staring directly at him. Kakashi grinned at him, at least Naruto assumed it was a grin, from the experience he'd had for the past few who knows how many years that he was his student. "Naruto, you have received quite the fantastic offer. Now, knowing you quite well, I was all for rejecting it, but these annoying kids refused to believe me!" Kakashi waved at him.

"Uh...hello." Naruto ducked his head in a miniature bow.

"Naruto, we have witnessed your talents and we would like you to join the ANBU, of course, joining it is completely your choice and even if you reject us now, the offer will always be open to you. We could really use the talents of an Uzumaki clan member in the ANBU."

Shock was an understatement. Why was Naruto getting this offer faster than Hinata or Shino? That wasn't right, Naruto had made sure that he didn't show the real extent of his abilities because he wanted to stay with everyone he cared about. The only other promotion he wanted was Hokage. Getting an ANBU offer was truly an honour but Naruto would rather avoid becoming one to be honest. He didn't like the idea of killing, Naruto was a shinobi that tried to avoid killing at any cost. His Uzumaki sealing jutsus weren't meant to kill either. Naruto didn't want to use them for killing, it was impossible to use them for killing. A Hyuuga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame or Nara would have been perfect for ANBU. But Uzumakis were different and Naruto would rather not taint that name.

"I apologize, but I will have to refuse that offer!" Naruto bowed deeply.

"See? I told you, didn't I?"Kakashi asked with a grin. "You can go, Naruto."

"The offer will always be open!" the ANBU member called out to him as he walked out. He knocked straight into Sakura who was returning from a surgery on a chunnin who had got injured on a mission.

"There you are Naruto! Hey are you OK? Let me take a look at you." Sakura grabbed his arm and while they were walking she looked him over. Sasuke walked out of one of the mission archive rooms and wordlessly joined them as the three of them walked out of the building. "You seem OK. How did you get back home, Itachi san didn't give me the details."

"I took him home," Sasuke muttered.

"Woah, I'm so jealous. Sasuke kun has seen Naruto's home even though I haven't seen it in the five years we've been friends." Sakura glared at Naruto. Naruto chuckled awkwardly. He wasn't allowed to tell her that he lived in the Uchiha compound. They walked out of the building.

"Naruto senpai! Naruto kun! Naruto san! Naruto sama!" Suddenly they were surrounded and nearly squished to death by a hoard of girl all reaching for Naruto. Naruto let out a cry of surprise and grabbed Sakura's arm before she got trampled by the stampede of girls. While Naruto and Sakura were still trying to figure out what the heck was going on, a girl leaped at the unsuspecting Sasuke and punched him straight in the face.

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke kun!"

"Stay away from Naruto senpai, Uchiha!" the girl spat out loudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay, if you haven't noticed already, yes, yes, Sasuke is jealous of literally everyone around Naruto. Well, looks like something interesting is coming up. Sorry if the chapter feels rushed, I had a tough time writing this chapter for some reason, meh. And if you were wondering, no, Naruto didn't suddenly accumulate fan girls over night. They've always been around but seeing Naruto in a yukata kinda made everything snap. A warning before we move on to the next few chapters, not only is Sasuke sadistic, I am too. My kpop fan fictions are very well known for the way I torture my characters emotionally, mentally and even physically. I like writing psycho thrillers, horror and gore, so, yay! Be prepared for more dramatic and emotional shit coming your way.


	4. Chapter 4

There was no time to react. Sasuke's Sharingan had activated so fast and he had grabbed the girl in a death grip so fast, pressing a kunai against her back, and glaring at her with his doujutsu that Naruto and Sakura had barely seen it. The girls gasped and drew back. Naruto blinked and was about to start forward but Sakura grabbed his arm and hissed in pain. Her foot was bleeding. It had been stepped on by accident.

"Why should I? I think I have every right to hang around my own teammates." Sasuke said, so emotionlessly a chill passed through the air. Almost everyone - aside from Naruto and Sakura cause they had heard it so many times - shuddered violently.

"You're always being so mean and hurting Naruto Senpai." The girl bit out.

"Hora! What are you doing right in front of the Hokage's office?" Shikamaru snapped. "Disperse at once and good shodai, what the hell are you doing, Sasuke?" Sasuke let go of the girl who scrambled away and turned to Shikamaru, the most bone chilling smile on his face.

"Oh nothing, just taking care of a girl who punched my perfect face." Sasuke tucked him kunai back into his shirt. "Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto then remembered Sakura. He turned with wide eyes. Sakura offered them a smile and then bent down to heal her foot. Sasuke turned to Naruto and Naruto felt intimidated when Sasuke smirked at him. "Looks like someone's gotten pretty popular." Naruto stood up straight, somewhat pleased and somewhat horrified as well. What on earth was going on?

"Wow, those girls are scarier than Sasuke's fan girls. They were ready to punch an Uchiha in the face to protect Naruto." Sakura grinned.

"Oh, Naruto, congratulations on your promotion." Shikamaru said. Both Sasuke and Sakura gaped at Naruto.

"Promotion, what promotion? Naruto's capable of getting a promotion?" Sakura blurted out.

"Ah, I rejected it." Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Shikamaru sent him a lazy grin and for a moment he glanced at Sasuke.

"I knew you would anyway, ANBU doesn't suit you." Shikamaru said.

"ANBU?" Sakura erupted. "You were promoted to ANBU and you rejected it? Naruto, have you lost your brains? That's a step closer to Ho-" Sakura began and Naruto gave her a look.

"Do I look like I could ever handle ANBU, Sakura chan?" Naruto asked plainly. It hit Sakura like a fist and she had a look of fear on her face.

"No, no. Someone like you should never be in ANBU. It would destroy you." Sakura whispered. "You're too kind, too bright and too cheerful for ANBU."

"He wouldn't survive a day in ANBU." Sasuke snorted. "He's too soft for that."

"Was that a compliment, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. Sasuke turned to glare at Shikamaru.

"An insult. Shinobi should not be weak emotionally like Naruto is." Sasuke said darkly. Naruto and Sakura looked in between Sasuke and Shikamaru in confusion wondering what was going on.

"You're slipping up. How un-Uchiha like. But then again, your patience must have worn thin over the years." Shikamaru smirked. Woah, Shikamaru just smirked! He was so good looking. Naruto and Sakura half expected to hear Temari strangling herself to death in a corner.

"You're too smart, Nara." Sasuke said with a cold smile.

"Why thank you. It's rather amusing watching the two of you and your dramatics." Shikamaru shrugged and walked past Sasuke. "Oh, and Naruto, you did pretty well last night. I've never seen anything like that." Shikamaru turned to Naruto, a genuine 'Shikamaru' smile on his face. Naruto and Sakura blinked.

"Uh...thank you?" Naruto said in confusion.

"Did you really look so good last night that even Shikamaru is complimenting you?" Sakura whispered. Naruto shrugged, utterly baffled. It wasn't like he ever understood Shikamaru when he spoke smart lines, anyway. "Oh well, you guys want to go to Ichiraku? I'm starving." It occurred to Naruto that it was already lunch time and he hadn't eaten a thing. Naruto nodded frantically. All the dramatics were making him hungry too. Sasuke made a face. Well, the guy wasn't fond of ramen in the first place and he seemed to be in a pretty bad mood anyway. Sakura grinned, leaned over and poked his shoulder. "I'll order special tomato ramen for you if team seven can eat lunch together." Sakura said slyly. Sasuke straightened up ever so slightly.

"Is that an invitation?" Yamato asked, walking out of the hokage's office with Sai. Sakura smiled widely and nodded.

"I'm apart of team seven too!" Kakashi yelled, jumping out of his window.

"Rokudaime sama!" Iruka shouted from the open window, a very exasperated Rin and a bored Obito behind him. "You still have work to do! Rokudaime sama!" Naruto wondered how his teacher, part adoptive brother could bring the child out of Kakashi sensei. Iruka sensei was truly amazing. Although, Naruto sort of pitied him, dating the Rokudaime who was well known for being eccentric and serious and ridiculously talented and smart at the same time was a huge feat. Plus, Iruka was like Kakashi's right handed man, make that left handed since Shikamaru was included. So Kakashi rarely listened to Iruka. Thank Rikudou that Obito and Rin were around to keep the Hokage on a leash.

The team members of team seven turned to glare at Kakashi. Kakashi froze in place, intimidated by the way he was being stared at.

"Go back, Rokudaime sama." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Finish your work, senpai." Yamato said seriously.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and turned back towards his office.

"If you're not up here in two seconds, I'm locking up Iruka, Bakakashi!" Obito called.

Kakashi almost chidoried Obito as he crashed back into his office.

"Shall we go?" Sakura asked once Kakashi was safe back in his office. Everyone nodded.

_"You're doing it all wrong, you gather your chakra like this!"_

Naruto's head shot up and he spun around. It was his self-conjured little Sasuke's voice. Why was he hearing it again? What was happening? Was he finally losing his mind? His breath hitched in his throat as he saw the little Sasuke standing there, glaring at him. He almost fell backwards screaming. Why was a chibi version of Sasuke standing there?

"Oi, dobe, what are you looking at?" Sasuke snapped. Naruto turned, all four of his teammates were looking at him, waiting for him.

"Look!" Naruto pointed and turning back to the chibi Sasuke.

Everyone looked.

Nothing.

"What the-" Naruto let out a strangled cry. "But he was there! I swear, he was really there!" Naruto turned to look around, searching high and low and even going into Kyuubi mode to sense if he was around.

"Naruto? What are you doing?" Yamato asked.

"He was there!" Naruto uselessly flailed.

"Who?" Sai asked.

"Sasuke! Sasuke was standing right there!" Naruto cried out.

"I'm standing right here, baka." Sasuke said, a look of irritation on his face.

"No, not you, your chibi version! Your younger version was standing right there and glaring up at me! I heard your younger voice talking to me last night and right now! I swear!" Naruto said frantically, desperate for someone to believe him.

Silence as all four of them stared at him.

"Sasuke kun..." Sakura said slowly, a concerned look on her face. "Does Naruto have an intricate genjutsu on him? I can't sense any..." Sakura said quietly.

Sasuke activated his sharingan.

"I don't see anything." he said.

"Wait, I think Kurama and I would've realized if it was a genjutsu!" Naruto protested.

"We need to take him to Inoichi san." Sai said.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked, slightly offended.

"Naruto, I don't think you understand how grave this situation is. You're seeing things! You're the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi! If something is wrong with you, the entire of Konoha could be destroyed." Yamato explained.

Naruto sputtered.

"His name is Kurama, and there is nothing wrong with me!" Naruto hissed. "You guys are the ones who didn't see the little Sasuke!" Naruto snapped.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Sasuke snarled. And then Naruto saw him, standing a little behind Sasuke, the little Sasuke stood there.

_"If you can't even gather chakra properly, how am I supposed to believe that you're an Uzumaki?"_

The little version of Sasuke snickered at him.

"What the hell? Come here, you little brat! I'll kill you!" Naruto lunged forward, reaching for the little Sasuke. Sasuke instantly jumped to the side and then the little Sasuke was gone.

"Someone restrain him!" Sakura yelled. Suddenly Naruto was bound by Sai's snakes and Yamato's vines. Sasuke used his sharingan on him to render him immobile. Sakura knelt in front of Naruto. "Naruto, calm down, I don't know what's going on, but something is seriously wrong. First you passed out last night when you're perfectly healthy and now you're seeing things. If you run around like that in Konoha, people will be scared. Calm down, I'll take you to the Intelligence Department, if they've messed with your head, it's something neither of us can sense. They will take a look at you. Calm down." And then Naruto realized that he had been using his Kyuubi sage mode, a fuuton-rasen-shuriken had been building up in his right hand and that the people in the vicinity were staring at him in something close to fear. What was he doing?

_"Seriously, you're useless, do I have to teach you?"_ The little Sasuke appeared behind Yamato and shook his head at him. Before Naruto could help himself he started ripping free.

_Naruto, what are you doing?_ Kurama roared.

"Sleep, Naruto!" Sasuke ordered, shoving Sakura out of the way and looking at Naruto's eyes with his sharingan. Naruto sagged backwards, his vision becoming darkness.

-o-

_"Then you teach me if you're so great!" Naruto snapped._

_"Alright! Niisan taught me! My oldest one! Itachi niisan is always really busy, so he never gets the time to! So what you do is, you put your hands together like this-" Sasuke began._

_"I already know that, don't teach me something I already know!" Naruto snapped irritably._

_"Shush! I haven't gotten to the good part yet."' Sasuke glared at him. Naruto frowned but quietly and attentively watched Sasuke, vowing to pick up the technique in one go so that he'd show Sasuke. He wouldn't be belittled by the so called legendary Uchiha anymore. Uzumakis were legendary too and extremely powerful at that. It was unfortunate that Uzumakis were actually quite often feared and looked down upon. "So at the point where you gather chakra, you think of all the people that you want to protect and love and then gather the power to protect them!" Sasuke explained. Naruto stared in awe as Sasuke formed a clone with the amount of chakra he had gathered._

_"Woah! That was so cool! My clones always end up really messed up!" Naruto said enthusiastically._

_"Go ahead, you try it. Hopefully you'll get it right this time, idiot." Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto scowled at him._

_Naruto put his hands together. The power to protect the ones he loved. His mom, Dad, Karin neechan, Yomo niichan, Taihei, Nagato niichan and Karin neechan's mom and Aunt Fuso! Naruto sensed Sasuke watching him intently and Naruto felt a little warm. And Uchiha Sasuke as well._

_"Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, releasing all the chakra at once and making the hand signs._

_Sasuke let out a startled gasp. Naruto looked around. There were ten clones._

_"You have a lot of chakra," was all Sasuke managed to croak out._

_"Uzumakis have naturally large chakra reserves!" Naruto said proudly. Naruto looked around and then frowned. "I have to go!"_

_"You're right! It's really late!" Sasuke nodded._

_"See you tomorrow, Sasuke!" Naruto waved._

_"See you, Naruto!" Sasuke waved back._

-o-

"Are you awake, Naruto?" Naruto opened his eyes when he heard Sai's voice. He saw Iruka, Sai, Yamato, Obito and Kakashi bent over him, worry etched on their faces. Blinking he tried to sit up but stopped when he realized he was tied to the bed he was lying on. "They tied you up in case you lose it like you did outside. They've put a check to your chakra now, but Kurama's chakra is still running through you. Kurama did tell us that he has nothing to do with the hallucinations that you are seeing," Sai explained.

"They're not hallucinations!" Naruto protested.

"Then what are they, Naruto?" Yamato cut in. "You kept hearing and seeing things we couldn't see, what is it if it isn't a hallucination?" Naruto went silent, having no actual answer for that.

Iruka saw the insecurity and confusion on his face and then let out a sigh, stepped forward and started to untie him.

"Wait, Iruka, what are you doing?" Yamato asked.

"Untying him, what else? Look at how uncertain he looks. He wouldn't hurt us on purpose and he's scared, don't make him feel like a shunned jinchuuriki again." Iruka said, helping Naruto sit up. Naruto clung to Iruka's shirt like a child, shying away from the other's gazes.

"But what if he-" Yamato started again.

"We have you and Sai-kun to restrain him, an Uchiha, someone he's emotionally attached to and the Hokage. There's not much of a chance anything will happen, right?" Iruka said. "How are you feeling Naruto, you didn't have anything to eat yet, right? I have some meat buns." Iruka opened his pouch and pulled out a small bag of meat buns.

"Oh my Shodai, you're a life saver, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, his mouth watering. His stomach growled loudly and then Obito laughed.

"Yeah, he's Naruto alright." Obito chuckled, ruffling Naruto's hair as Naruto pulled a meat bun out and devoured it as fast as possible.

"Did we inform Itachi, Miko-" Kakashi began. Obito punched him in the face, sending him flying into the wall.

"What the hell, Obito?" Kakashi fumed.

"You fail to realize, You, Iruka and I are the only ones who know what you were about to spout right now! Did you finally lose your brains?" Obito seethed. Yamato and Sai looked on in confusion. Iruka awkwardly patted Naruto's hair. Yamato and Sai didn't know that he stayed with the Uchihas either. "It's unusual for you of all people to slip up like that, have you been sleeping properly lately?" Obito asked as Kakashi straightened, up, stroking his cheek.

"Nope, cause Iru-" Kakashi began. Iruka went scarlet and kicked Kakashi back into the wall.

"What the hell? Is it bully the Hokage day?" Kakashi yelled.

"Shut up!" Iruka yelled.

"No one wants to know what you and Iruka did!" Yamato snapped. Naruto ignored all of this and happily munched on the meat buns from the bag on his lap. Sai watched the occurrences with that mysterious smile on his face. Of Naruto's generation, Shikamaru was the only person who knew he stayed with the Uchihas, but that was because he was the Hokage's right handed man.

Inoichi chose that moment to walk in with Ino following him.

"What are you guys doing?" Inoichi asked the four screaming adults. Ino simply skipped over to Sai to flirt with him. Naruto watched the two, chewing loudly. How long had the two been flirting like this without dating each other. Even Naruto as an idiot could see it!

"Can you guys just please shut up?" Inoichi finally bellowed. Blessed silence. "Right, Naruto, if you could, please take a seat in front of me." Naruto reluctantly parted with his meat buns and trudged over to Inoichi.

"Before we continue, Naruto, use Kurama's chakra and place a seal on us. A seal that dictates none of us can speak of what happened in here unless you or I approve of it." Kakashi said.

"What? Naruto can use a jutsu like that? That's not right! Naruto shouldn't be able to use something like-" Ino began.

"Ino," Naruto interrupted her. "Never underestimate the jutsus of the Uzumaki clan. There was a reason why we were deemed one of the three power clans next to Uchiha and Senju." Naruto started to form the seals for the jutsu.

"The sealing jutsus are a bloodline limit that the only surviving member, Uzumaki Naruto has now." Kakashi explained. "And he rarely uses it because if word got out that there is another Uzumaki jinchuuriki, Naruto would be instantly targeted by obscure countries. His survival is a secret amongst the five great countries and Amegakure. In fact, almost no one in Konoha knows that Naruto inherited the bloodline limit of the Uzumakis and the Namikazes." Kakashi said.

"Wait a moment, Namikaze?" Ino cried.

"It's a secret among the elders, Naruto is the son of the Uzumaki Princess Kushina and the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato." Obito said. "Well, now, you and Sai know, but you won't be able to speak a word about it."

Ino looked like she was ready to burst with all the new information she was given.

"I'm about to cast the justu." Naruto said. Everyone nodded. Naruto closed his eyes and performed the seal. He opened his eyes. "Done."

"Very well then, if you will permit me to, I will start to check for any breaches in your mind." Inoichi said.

"You may." Naruto nodded.

Inoichi put his palm on Naruto's head and closed his eyes. Naruto felt himself falling into unconsciousness again. When Naruto was woken up an hour later, Inoichi had a troubled look on his face.

"Nothing is wrong with him." Inoichi said.

"Eh?" Everyone cried.

"In fact, to be exact, he is returning to the way he is supposed to be." Inoichi explained. They all stared dumbly at him. Inoichi sighed and then turned to Naruto. "Naruto kun, how much do you remember from the Kyuubi attack when you were five years old?"

"What are you trying to get at?" Naruto snapped.

"Do you know who sealed Kurama into you, who you were with at the time, how the Kyuubi was released, do you remember watching your family dying?" Inoichi asked. Naruto almost turned green. Iruka instantly stepped in to defend Naruto.

"Inoichi that was insensitive of you!" Iruka cried.

"No it wasn't." Inoichi said firmly. "Well, Naruto?"

"There was screaming, crying, blood, I saw people dying...it was awful..." Naruto looked like he was going to be sick. Naruto stopped as he felt the images flash before his eyes again. His brow wrinkled in confusion. "But, I didn't see my loved ones die!" Naruto cried out. "I remember Kurama but I didn't see my mother even though she was the previous jinchuuriki! I don't know who sealed Kurama into me!" Naruto yelled in realization.

"Like I thought." Inoichi nodded.

"What does this mean, Inoichi?" Obito asked.

"When I was digging through Naruto kun's head, I found what was like a four walled room, without a single door. There was no way to open it. There are several gaps in Naruto kun's memory from his childhood. I believe that they are in that room. There is a small crack in the room, allowing Naruto kun's memories to leak out. I've only seen this kind of jutsu once before. It's one of the higher level forbidden justus of the Uzumaki clan." Inoichi said.

Silence.

"But...this jutsu was not done by an Uzumaki." Inoichi said. "I sensed no Uzumaki chakra. I sensed Kushina's and Minato's chakra on the Kyuubi seal, but...the room was not created by an Uzumaki."

"Wait." Obito held up his hand. "The only ones capable of imitating the Uzumaki bloodline limit, usually with the risk of death are the Uchihas...and the ones capable of undoing the Kyuubi seal are..." Obito stopped there.

"The Uchihas." Iruka finished.

"Oh my god." Ino gasped.

"There was one death back then. There was a death of an Uchiha on that day." Obito said.

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Uchiha Kyodo." Kakashi breathed. "How did I not see it?"

"Uchiha Kyodo? Who is that?" Naruto asked.

"Don't ask, in fact, don't mention the name to anyone." Kakashi said. "His death was hushed up."

"I have heard of him and I think I know what it is you are getting at." Sai said quietly.

"Alright, Sai, I am returning you to your ANBU duties. Your jounin missions are suspended at the moment. You need to watch over Naruto at all times, you and Uchiha Itachi will alternate during guard. Do not let Naruto and Sasuke be alone for even a moment. In fact, don't let Naruto out of your sight for even a second." Kakashi ordered.

"Wait, what? Kakashi sensei? What are you doing?" Naruto asked furiously.

"Naruto, keep quiet, your life and Kurama's life could be in danger." Kakashi said, a dead serious look on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, yay! Dramatics in coming! Confusion! Uchihas and Uzumakis, lost memories, forbidden jutsus, unknown dead people and hallucinations. This is getting fun, don't you think? Muahahahaha! Any way, I have to go on hiatus cause my exams are going on. I hadn't updated because of my exams and I just got a huge gap between my exams so I decided put this up for you guys. My exams end on the 20th, so I'll try and put out another chapter in that week. See you people! Wish me good luck!


	5. Chapter 5

"So I was told about the situation." Itachi said, sitting on the wall as Naruto practiced his taijutsu. "You're seeing things that belong in a memory sealed away?" Itachi leaped off the wall and then headed over to Naruto, adjusting Naruto's stance into a more comfortable and effective one. "So what have you been seeing?" Itachi asked.

"Unfortunately, that is information I am not allowed to disclose unless Kakashi sensei finds more information and permits." Naruto said blandly.

"Ah, I see. Adjust your arm to the right a little." Itachi said. "So now Sai knows where you're staying, are you alright with that?" Itachi asked.

"Well it's not like he can say anything about it." Naruto shrugged.

"Hey, hey. Wait a moment, stop." Itachi grabbed Naruto's arms, stopping him. "Hey, look at me. Are you OK?" Itachi asked. "What happened? Please tell me." Naruto looked at Itachi's genuinely concerned eyes and broke.

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore, niisan...It was so frightening. I couldn't stop trembling for hours after I left the Intelligence Department. I want my memories back, but I'm so scared that it's something that I don't want to see. I want them back but if getting them back means I go berserk in Konoha, I don't want them back. You should've seen their faces, niisan, they were terrified of me. I...I was going to use the fuuton-rasen-shuriken in my Kyuubi sage mode! What am I doing, niisan? I can't even control my own body anymore!" Naruto said, his lips trembling. Itachi chose that moment to grab his face with one hand, squeezing his cheeks together making his lips look like a duck's.

"Now you listen here, my lovable Naruto. You'll be fine. You would have never hurt anyone on purpose. And your friends are with you if anything happens, that's why we're around. If Sasuke were to suddenly, rampage, you would stop him, right?" Itachi asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Your friends would all do the same for you. They know you would never hurt anyone and they would never let you. So, stop being so scared and have a little faith in yourself and your friends. You'll get over this soon enough. I promise." Itachi grinned.

"Am I interrupting something?" Shisui's voice asked. Naruto and Itachi turned, not surprised. Shisui was one of the few who could completely hide his presence and the presence of the person with him from Itachi and Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura were standing next to Shisui too. Sakura looked ready to squeal with joy. Naruto could almost feel what was going on in her head. She was thinking Itachi and him had great chemistry. Sasuke looked pissed off as usual.

"No, other than Naruto's training and pep talk, you're not interrupting anything." Itachi said, grinning at Shisui.

"Oh, in that case," Sakura turned.

"No, no, you weren't interrupting anything, Sakura chan! Itachi is just joking around!" Naruto hurriedly stopped her. It would be better to halt her fantasies before they got out of hand. Sasuke still looked wonderfully pissed off and Naruto just kind of wanted him to vanish. In fact, the little Sasuke seemed to appear around the actual Sasuke, so maybe it would be better if Sasuke just left.

"Are you alright, Naruto? What did Inoichi san say?" Sakura asked.

"I'm fine." Naruto answered. "Everything was taken care of."

"What do you mean everything was taken care of? Care to elaborate, dobe?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. Naruto didn't dare look at him, for fear that the little Sasuke would make his appearance.

"Unfortunately that is confidential information. Those in witness may not reveal what happened without the Rokudaime's permission." Itachi said.

Sasuke, Sakura and Shisui stared with wide eyes.

"Wait a moment! Then does that mean that Naruto kun isn't OK?" Shisui asked.

"No, I'm fine, you could call what was happening a natural occurrence since it could happen for a while. It should die down eventually." Naruto wasn't even lifting his eyes up from the ground. He didn't want to see the little Sasuke, because if he was right, when he had leapt with that fuuton-rasen-shuriken, he had almost hit Sasuke, he didn't want to hurt Sasuke. He'd never forgive himself if he hurt Sasuke.

"What? In that case, we can't leave Naruto's side!" Sakura said.

"Don't worry, everything is fine." Naruto said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Sakura chan." Naruto said with a smile.

She didn't look convinced, Shisui didn't look convinced and Sasuke didn't look convinced either. Shisui let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, OK or not, secret or not, if Naruto kun, Itachi and the Rokudaime sama are alright with this, it must mean that they have a solution in mind." Shisui said. "Itachi, want to go eat dango with me?" Itachi shot Shisui a grin.

"Naruto, do you want to come with me?" Itachi asked. Naruto looked up at Itachi in something close to surprise. Itachi and Shisui usually went and ate dango together to catch up on things that they hadn't talked to each other about when they were busy with missions. Then he remembered. Itachi was supposed to keep an eye on him and it would be weird if he rejected an offer he always took to hang around with Naruto.

"Sure!" Naruto beamed.

"What? But Itachi!" Shisui protested.

"Oh come on, Naruto is the cutest thing ever, we can take him with us!" Itachi said. Sakura was squealing quietly and Sasuke looked like he was about to slaughter everything in sight. Oh no, this was going to make things a lot more complicated. Why on earth did Sai have to finish something Danzou gave him to do?

"Fine, let's go." Shisui muttered.

"I'll see you guys," Naruto said. Naruto internally sighed when Sasuke didn't even look at him but turned to look at Sakura instead who was waving at Naruto. Of course, Sasuke would care less if Naruto was leaving, Naruto was giving him extra time with Sakura. Naruto followed Shisui and Itachi into the dango shop.

"So, care to tell me what is going on?" Shisui asked, turning serious once they had settled with their plates of dango.

"I have a new ANBU mission, even I don't know the full details, but I am to watch Naruto at all times and protect him." Itachi answered. "It's a joint mission with Sai." Itachi explained. Naruto didn't have to ask why Itachi was disclosing details of a top secret mission to Shisui. The two of them were closer than any other best friends Naruto had ever seen. And after getting to know Shisui, Naruto knew he wouldn't open his mouth even if he was tortured with an inch of his life.

"Wait, so you aren't OK?" Shisui turned to Naruto.

"I'll be fine, this is supposed to calm down in a couple of months and I think I know how to keep myself in check." Naruto explained.

"And how is that?" Shisui asked.

"Until it's over, I have to avoid looking at Sasuke much." Naruto said.

"Oh god...Naruto..." Shisui said in sympathy. "Anyway, I have to go on a mission to Shijima no Kuni. It'll take a couple of months. Your parents will probably tell you later tonight, but they are going with me for the mission."

Itachi and Naruto started.

"Mom on a mission? That's ridicu-"

"Mother put down her kunai years ago." Itachi said.

"Well, both of you know better than me how determined Mikoto san is, she decided on this because she believes it has something to do with Naruto's well being." Shisui said.

"My well being?" Naruto said dumbly.

"I don't know the details, I'm merely a weapon and tool for your parents." Shisui bit into another dango, turning to look at Itachi who looked resigned.

"Oh well, then there is nothing we can do about it." Itachi sighed. "Naruto, we should head home, if they're leaving, mom will want to cook a feast, and if she wants to cook a feast-"

"She'll need me too." Naruto finished. "Come on, let's go."

Over dinner, Fugaku and Mikoto explained that they were going on a very important mission that only they could go on. Sasuke wasn't very happy about it, but he listened. Fugaku left strict instructions for each of them and Mikoto told them what she needed to, explaining that the kitchen would be left in Naruto and Itachi's care and that Sasuke wasn't allowed to touch anything in it. Fugaku wished them goodnight first and then went to go prepare things needed for the mission. Sasuke was the next to head to bed, saying that he had to help Iruka sensei with his demonstration class the next day. Itachi stuck around to help with the dishes but when he ended up breaking a plate Mikoto shooed him to bed. Itachi smiled.

"Mother, please take care of yourself, I know you'll probably be gone by the time I wake up. Stay safe, tell father if you get hurt, I'll kill him." Itachi then leaned down and kissed his mother's cheek. Naruto gaped, Mikoto blushed in shock.

"Hora, Itachi, you haven't done that since you were five!" Mikoto gasped. "Come here," she grabbed Itachi's face, pulled him down and littered his face with kisses even though he protested. "Off to bed you go, I love you, Itachi." Itachi wished Naruto goodnight and then left.

"Mom..."

"I know what you're going to say, but if there was an Uchiha behind what happened to you and I don't do something about it, I will never forgive myself. I want you to be safe and I want to avenge my best friend. I love you, just as much as I love Itachi and Sasuke and nothing will change that. You're my son, Naruto, of course I'd do anything to protect you." Mikoto said. Naruto felt tears in his eyes.

After they were done with the dishes, Mikoto took Naruto to his room and sat on his bed next to him.

"While I'm gone, don't let Sasuke bully you and make him fall for you, OK? Eat food, not just ramen, alright? Don't get into trouble and stay safe, understood?" Mikoto told him.

Naruto nodded.

"Goodnight, Naruto."

"Goodnight, mom."

-o-

_"Come this way. This is how I always get out." Naruto was holding someone's hand and pushing his way through bushes and magnolia trees. "There! That's the window to my room!" Naruto opened the window and entered a well furnished room."_

_"Woah! So cool!" Naruto heard Sasuke's voice._

_The scene changed and they were kneeling in front of an open scroll._

_"So, what does this do?" Sasuke asked._

_"I don't know, let's figure out."Naruto said, putting his hand on the square._

_The scene changed again and Naruto saw the Kyuubi towering over them, hatred in his eyes. There were screams, blood was everywhere, Sasuke was clutching his hand as both of them stared up in horror._

_"Naruto! Run! Run that way! I'll distract the Kyuubi!" Yomo niichan was screaming at him._

_Then he was in his mother's arms, his mother was bleeding._

_"Get away from him, Naruto! Don't go near him!" Kushina screamed._

_"But Sasuke could get hurt! Mom, we can't leave Sasuke!" Naruto cried out._

_"Mikoto's son? No! Naruto why did you bring him here?"_

_Sasuke was bent over, vomiting on the ground, his eyes red, showing the sharingan._

_"It's the sharingan! Someone get him away from the Kyuubi!" Minato yelled._

_And then Naruto was standing in a pool of blood, tears streaming down his face. There were body parts all around him, his stomach was burning, his mother lay in front of him, her red hair spread beautifully._

_"Niisan! Niisan! What are you doing? Let go! Stop! It hurts!" Naruto heard Sasuke scream. He numbly turned around to look and saw a hand reach for him, all Naruto could see was a menacing Sharingan looking at him and then he was thrown next to Sasuke._

_"What have you done, Sasuke? Don't you realize what you've done?" An unfamiliar deep voice said. Naruto tried to turn around, but that hand covered his vision again and all that could see was that sharingan. "You will forget."_

_Naruto fell backwards, screaming in pain, feeling like his very being was being ripped apart. As he turned to look at Sasuke, screaming and crying he was stunned to see Sasuke lying there in a pool of blood, covered in blood and staring at him wordlessly and calmly with his sharingan._

No, god, no, _Naruto could only think. Naruto tried to crawl away but he stopped when he realized he was surrounded by the pieces of his family, his clan. Screaming and crying in pain, Naruto threw up repeatedly on the ground as his head split with the pain._

-o-

Naruto sat up with a yell. Itachi and Sasuke were at his door the next moment.

"Naruto!" Itachi said. "What's wrong?"

Naruto shoved past Itachi, ran to the bathroom and threw up into the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach. After calming down and throwing up two more times. Itachi managed to get him to the table and give him water.

"Are you sure he isn't sick, niisan?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. It was a mistake. The little Sasuke stood there, with his sharingan, staring wordlessly with that same calm expression, covered in blood. Naruto let out a shriek, falling backwards and off the chair.

"Stay away from me! Don't come near me!" Naruto screamed, cowering a corner and covering his head.

"Naruto? Naruto?" Itachi cried out.

"Dobe, what the heck has gotten into you?" Sasuke started forward.

"Sasuke, I think you should leave." Itachi turned to Sasuke. Naruto just covered his head, breathing heavily into his arms, desperate not to see the little Sasuke. He heard Sasuke curse and then a door slam shut. Itachi sat next to him, hand on his arm. "Are you OK, Naruto?" Naruto couldn't stop trembling. He had relived the Uzumaki massacre in a dream and it wasn't even the entire massacre, but it was so vivid, he couldn't stop shaking or crying. He saw his dead mom this time. It was enough to render him speechless and then that expressionless sharingan gaze on Sasuke was so frightening. Naruto slowly pulled his shaking arms away from his head and saw blood on them. Naruto threw up again. "We need to take you to Sakura."

Naruto didn't recall how he got to Sakura's place but he was sitting on her sofa, sipping some lemonade. Her parents were watching him curiously and Itachi was standing there, his face arranged in typical Uchiha fashion, devoid of emotion.

"As far as I can see, this isn't a health problem but a psychological problem. The lemon should settle his stomach. Itachi san, can you please tell me what happened?" Sakura asked. Naruto turned to look at Itachi.

"I was exercising when I found Naruto by one of the training grounds. I believe he had a nightmare or something of the sort that made him relive the Kyuubi attack on the Uzumaki clan." Itachi said. If Naruto didn't feel so numb, he would have grinned at how flawlessly Itachi lied.

"What makes you believe that?" Sakura asked.

There was silence. Naruto blinked, wait, he hadn't even told Itachi what he had seen. How had Itachi known. Itachi cleared his throat and a look of sadness filled his eyes.

"He was crying 'mom, don't leave me, wake up'." Itachi said softly. Naruto felt a tear slip out of his right eye as Sakura stood frozen.

"Oh, Naruto." Sakura breathed, turning to Naruto. "Here, let me give you a hug." Sakura sat next to him and hugged him. He felt warm and then realized he was being pathetic. He should be stronger than this. He needed to face things. He needed to face that little Sasuke and find out what he was trying to tell him. And then suddenly Naruto was struck with such an obvious miscalculation that he felt worse than an idiot.

_What was Sasuke doing in my dream? If my dream was based off my memories, what was he doing in there? I wasn't let out of the Uzumaki compound even once, there was no way I could have ever met Sasuke! And even if that was actually Sasuke in my memories, didn't that make him present during the Uzumaki massacre and did that mean he should know something?_

Naruto straightened up.

"Where is Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"He has a demonstration class with Iruka's students." Itachi explained. Oh, that was right, Sasuke had mentioned that the night before. "But, maybe you should get ready and just hang out, outside Naruto, it's pocky day, you should have some fun to keep your mind off things." Itachi suggested.

"Oh that's a good idea, how about I help you home and you can get ready and then we'll hang out together?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shook his head.

"You can get ready Sakura chan. Itachi can take me home." Naruto said. Sakura put her hands on her hips although there was a smile on her face, she looked frustrated.

"OK, will you or will you not show me where you live?" Sakura snapped. "Is something going on between you and Itachi san?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shook his head no for both.

"You're dead, kid." Sakura snarled and for which question, Naruto didn't know. Sakura sent a punch at him and the next moment Naruto found himself hanging on to Itachi's shoulders.

"Thank you, Sakura san. Well then, we will go now." Itachi leaped out the window.

"You can't continue to hide things from me, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sakura screamed from the window. And which point she was talking about, Naruto still didn't know. "I will find out where you live and what is happening between you and Itachi san!" Sakura's echoing shriek rang through the air.

"Wow, your friend is scary...the last time I met a woman that scary was your mother and my own mother." Itachi shook his head.

"You're scared of women?" Naruto asked with an amused smile, starting to feel a little lighter.

"You aren't? Women are scary." Itachi shook his head.

The two of them arrived back at the Uchiha compound and then Itachi pushed Naruto into the bathroom to take a bath. When Naruto got out and Itachi went in, he looked around. The house felt so empty without Mikoto's presence. Naruto sighed and then went to go and make breakfast. Itachi came out and they ate in silence. It was a comfortable silence, not like the silence that Sasuke and him shared, that silence filled with tension.

The two of them then went to the dango shop in hope of _knocking into_ Sakura. She was there with Sai, Shikamaru and Tenten. They just started to walk over to them, manoeuvre through the crowded streets when a girl stepped in front of Naruto and bowed holding out a pocky stick.

"Naruto senpai! Please pocky with me!" She said loudly. The entire street went silent and Naruto stared in something close to bafflement. And then all the girls were clamouring to pocky with Itachi and Naruto. It was as if the street had woken up and they had noticed their presences. Sakura and the rest spotted them.

"Hey now! What are you-" Sakura stepped forward to come to their defence when a pocky stick was thrust in her face.

"Sakura san, please pocky with me!"

"EH?" Sakura almost shrieked as her, Shikamaru, Sai and Tenten were flooded with pocky requests as well.

Naruto was having the heart attack of his life. Why were there so many girls wanting to pocky with him? This had never happened before! The year before he had sulkily watched Sasuke and Sakura get bombarded with requests and he had been left alone, although, that entire day he had felt as if a multitude of eyes were stalking him. He didn't know what to do. Heck, he didn't know how to reject so many girl at the same time. Itachi was just blankly glowering at the girls brave enough to approach him.

"Please senpai! Naruto san, please!" Naruto was being pushed backwards and farther away from Sakura's group as they were pushed backwards by their own fans. Naruto looked down. What the heck? For a moment he saw a Kumogakure headband.

"Um...the thing is- wait a moment! I can't- Please just-" Naruto was at a loss of words and he honestly wanted to run away.

"Excuse me, pardon me!" Naruto suddenly heard Itachi's loud voice. He turned and so did everyone else. Itachi pushed his way through and put a pocky stick in Naruto's mouth. "Naruto, pocky with me." He said with a dead serious look in his eyes. Utter silence and Naruto's brain went blank.

_Wait, what?_

Then Itachi put his mouth on the other end of the pocky stick. Naruto went scarlet.

_Holy Rikudou! What is happening? Is this happening? Somebody do something! Stop him!_ Naruto's mind was throwing a badly formed panic meeting and internally he was flailing like a fish out of water. Sakura's group just noticed what was happening.

"W-wait! Itachi san-" Naruto panicked.

And then Itachi's lips met his own.

The fan girl screams went up four pitches and Sakura's jaw dropped. Naruto's eyes widened and all brain function flew out the window. Itachi pulled away, grinning brightly.

"I kissed the great Naruto! So, who's next?" Itachi called.

If Sakura wasn't going to kill Itachi with the way she was glaring at him, Naruto sure as hell would - after he regained life in his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this chapter, I know it was a little heavy but the dramatics is just getting started! Don't worry, from here onwards, some serious Sasunaru is going to start, so for those of you who might wonder if Itachi actually likes Naruto, he doesn't, ,he's just Naruto's big brother and smart and ships Sasunaru. He's got his own plan! Basically, the drama is going to get messier and Sasunaru is going to make it's full fledged debut!


	6. Chapter 6

"Me! Me! I want to kiss Naruto!" The fan girls went wild as Naruto fell backwards, blank and stunned motionless.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura yelled, slamming her foot down on the ground. The mini earth quake made everyone fall over. "Sai, grab Naruto and run, now." Sakura ordered. The pale boy nodded, jumped to Naruto, threw him over his shoulder and jumped away. Itachi blinked and looked like he was about to leave as well when Sakura grabbed his shoulder, the scariest grin possible on her face. "Hello Itachi san, Naruto's older sister would like to have a chat with you." Sakura said with a murderous look in her eyes.

Sai set Naruto down once they had reached training ground three.

"Naruto, snap out of it." Sai said, lightly smacking Naruto's face. Naruto started and went scarlet again.

"Oh my god, what do I do? That was my first kiss, Sai! What do I do? I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill Itachi niisan! I'm going to sprinkle all his dangos with chilli powder! I'll cut his hair in his sleep with the excuse that I'm getting a bug out of it. I'll kill him. I'll tell Shisui niisan to kill him too." Naruto ranted. "My first kiss!" Naruto wailed.

"What the hell are you wailing about?" Sasuke muttered, jumping down from the branch of a tree he had been resting on. Naruto started. Sai turned to look and then nodded in acknowledgement. Naruto for a moment wanted to run but then remembered the little Sasuke. He looked around only to see that he was nowhere in sight. He looked up at a pissed off Sasuke who was covered in pocky crumbs.

"He would be wailing about how Itachi san stole his-" Sai started. Naruto kicked Sai as hard as possible. Sai fell over and then turned, his face blank but eyes dark.

"Nothing, it's none of your business, Sasuke." Naruto cut in firmly, glaring at Sasuke with as much intensity as possible. "You look like you were attacked, had fun having pocky sticks shoved in your mouth this year?" Naruto snickered. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

"You look like you're doing much better than puking like you were earlier." Sasuke said icily. Sai suddenly looked very interested in the conversation. "You look like you've been assaulted as well. This year did you get plenty of smooches from your fan club?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. Naruto growled. Sasuke knew that Naruto hated the idea of physical intimacy even though he had studied under Jiraiya himself. Only Naruto's close friends knew that he was practically as innocent as a lamb. Naruto was about to start verbally sparring with Sasuke when he saw how Sasuke was looking at him. He shuddered at how Sasuke's eyes at the moment reminded him of the little Sasuke. He had questions that needed to be answered.

"Sasuke, the day of the Uzumaki massacre, where were you and what were you doing?" Naruto demanded to know. Sasuke blinked at the sudden change of topic and such a serious topic change as well.

"I don't remember, why?" Sasuke asked. Naruto glared at Sasuke, a hard look. If Sasuke had anything to do with the massacre, Naruto would never forgive him. And if Naruto had only dreamed that dream, then he would be glad that Sasuke didn't have anything to do with the massacre. Only an Uchiha could undo an Uzumaki seal. Only an Uchiha could imitate an Uzumaki seal, but at the cost of their own lives. Naruto didn't know what to think anymore. He could only hope that everything would be solved as fast as possible. Was he safe in the Uchiha clan? Of course he was, Itachi was watching over him and Itachi and Obito sensei couldn't be beaten by anyone in the Uchiha clan if they were on the same side.

"No reason." Naruto shrugged. Sasuke stared at him with a baffled and irritated look on his face.

"Where is Sakura?" Sasuke asked. Naruto felt his shoulders drop. Of course, he would ask about Sakura.

"Oh, I believe Sakura is confronting your brother right now on his feelings for Naruto." Sai piped up.

Silence. Naruto didn't dare to look at Sasuke, he could almost feel the death vibe coming from the Uchiha. Sasuke hated it when his family somehow got involved in business that could reveal that Naruto was staying with them. Only the Uchihas and a handful of the higher ups and Naruto's closest people knew.

"Feelings for the dobe? And she is doing that for what reason?" Sasuke asked, his voice cool and composed.

"No reason." Naruto said quickly before Sai could open that traitorous mouth of his. "It's all just a misunderstanding. Sakura has an amazing imagination, you know. Itachi san should clear it up pretty fast." Naruto nodded. He hated calling Itachi with the honorific 'san' in front of other people when he was much more comfortable calling him 'niisan'. It was all because of Sasuke Naruto had become a fantastic actor. He could hide things so well, he could fool younger Uchihas. It was funny how well Uchihas could read emotions when they were so emotionally crippled most of the time. Naruto didn't want the Uchihas to be behind the massacre. He knew all of them pretty well and he loved all of them. Sure a lot of them hated him at first, but over time they had opened. The elders were still upset over his behaviour and personality which he didn't keep under wraps _like an Uchiha_ \- honestly did no one see Itachi spazzing over dango? Even though the elders were upset, they treated him well and on his birthday they made the entire Uchiha clan throw a party. The streets were decorated like a festival, they made everyone eat Ramen that day and they prepared Naruto's finest yukata. The only reasons he never wore it was because he was too scared to dirty it or damage it and because it had an Uchiha crest on the back with the Uzumaki clan mark. If that wasn't an obvious statement of his engagement, Naruto didn't know what was. Naruto prayed the Uchihas didn't have anything to do with the massacre. They were his _family_.

"You had better be right about that, dobe." Sasuke said stonily.

"Didn't you have a demonstration with Iruka sensei's class?" Sai asked.

"Iruka sensei kicked me out after an hour of trying to calm down the girls in the class who were trying to pocky with me. What is wrong with girls that age?" Sasuke muttered. Sasuke looked down at Naruto. "Oi, dobe. Did you have breakfast?" Sasuke asked. Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered that Sasuke hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Um, no." Naruto quickly said, standing up. Even though Sai knew they were going to the Uchiha compound, Sasuke wasn't to know Sai was watching over Naruto. "Want to get something to eat?" Naruto offered.

"Sai, you can leave now." Sasuke said. "Ino was looking for you and screaming over my head about it." Sasuke muttered grumpily. "And I know you already had breakfast with Yamato sensei." Sasuke said.

Wait. Sasuke really needed to go home and eat? He could just eat out! Sai gave one of his creepy grins.

"Well then, I'll be going to find Ino." and Sai was gone. Naruto knew Sai wasn't really gone, he was just hiding so that he could follow him. Sai was a genius at stealth, they would never be able to sense him. Other trained people would be able to, but people at the level of team seven and below would not be able to.

"Let's go then. I'm assuming you made breakfast for me as well, am I right?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yes I did." Naruto quickly followed after Sasuke. Naruto was totally ready to walk through his secret path to the Uchiha compound but Sasuke led him straight through the village.

"Kakashi sensei's birthday is coming up, have you started to plan anything with anyone?" Sasuke asked. Sasuke glared at any girl who tried to approach them with a pocky stick so they were safe from fan girls. Naruto shook his head.

"No, but I plan on discussing things with Yamato sensei and Sakura soon." Naruto explained.

"Not with Iruka sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"No, no way. Iruka sensei will obviously be planning something _special_ for Kakashi sensei. No way am I going to get involved in that. I don't even want to get wind of it." Naruto shook his head in horror.

"Well, you do have a point." Sasuke said with a nod.

Naruto suddenly gave himself an internal slap. Holy cow! Was he having an actual conversation that didn't involve insults with Sasuke. No way! Involuntarily a large grin spread across his face and he turned to look at Sasuke, happily smiling at the thoughtful Uchiha.

-o-

"Are you or are you not dating Naruto?" Sakura demanded over her plate of jelly and fruit. Itachi quickly shook his head.

"No! No! I am not dating Naruto kun! He is ridiculously cute, but I am not dating him." Itachi said firmly.

"But you kissed him! That kid is even scared to hold someone's hand! You took his first kiss! That's like taking the first kiss of a girl when it comes to Naruto!" Sakura said firmly. "You both just started to get to know each other-"

"Sakura san, I think you're getting things all wrong. I've known Naruto since he was a child." Itachi smiled. Sakura blinked at Itachi. "And moreover, I am not Naruto's first kiss." Itachi said. Sakura's eyes widened.

"W-what are you talking about? Naruto just told me a couple of days ago that he hadn't had his first kiss!" Sakura said quickly, stuttering. She didn't believe Naruto would lie to her about things like this. Shikamaru who was sitting next to her and chewing on loudly on his dango turned with a serene look on his face.

"But he's telling the truth Sakura. Naruto already has had his first kiss." Shikamaru said, that amused look on his face which was unusual for a guy who always looked annoyed or bored. Sakura stared at Shikamaru with an astounded look on her face. Tenten choked on her jelly.

"Wait, you're telling me the kid who has been forever innocent has had his first kiss and hasn't told his protective adoptive mother yet?" Tenten asked, meaning Sakura when she said 'mother'.

"That's-" Sakura began and cut off when she caught sight of the street which was visible through the shop entrance. She straightened up, her eyes widening even more. "Oh my shodai, I don't believe it...I don't believe it." Everyone turned to look out at what she was looking at. Tenten dropped her spoon.

Naruto was walking next to Sasuke normally, smiling up at him while Sasuke was talking about something. The image was so natural and so peaceful that Sakura wondered if she was actually seeing her teammates. Sure, there were moments when Naruto and Sasuke seemed to get along but there always seemed to be something restraining them from ever bonding like friends. This was the first time Sakura had seem them so natural together and so calm without looking like they wanted to strangle each other.

And in that one moment, Sakura felt like she was looking at a couple that was meant to be.

When they had walked out of sight Sakura sat back on her seat, speechless. What had she just seen? She was starting to rethink everything. Did she even know Naruto like she thought she did? When she had brought up Naruto up in front of Ino, the blonde had looked rattled. After Naruto had been taken to the Intelligence Department, Ino had been behaving like that. Sakura wanted to ask, but she knew as a future Intelligence Department member, Ino wouldn't tell her even if it was tortured out of her. What had Naruto been hiding from her all these years? Was Naruto really the idiot she knew? Well, there was someone who knew.

"Itachi san-" Sakura turned to the Uchiha only to discover that he was gone. "He ran away on purpose, didn't he?" Sakura yelled in frustration. "Well then Shika-" the Nara was also gone. Tenten sat there awkwardly as Sakura let out a barrage of rants and screams.

-o-

"That's quite an elaborate plan you have for Kakashi sensei's birthday. Wouldn't it be easier just to get him Icha Icha Paradise merchandise?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

"That's what we got him last year. I know he never gets tired of it, but Obito sensei and Rin sensei won't stop complaining about how he won't do his duties." Sasuke sighed. Naruto chuckled, he had never heard any of those complaints, but he could imagine how terrifying it could be to hear them. Rin was one of the nicest women Naruto had ever met, but he had seen her beat Obito sensei to a pulp when he was accused of sexually harassing a woman. Of course, later on, the accusations had been cleared, because Obito wasn't the type of person to do that.

They arrived right in front of the house and then Naruto started to worry. Sai wouldn't be able to accompany them into the house and then he sensed what seemed to be Itachi. For a moment he relaxed but then he remembered what had happened earlier and he went scarlet. Just as long as Itachi stayed out of sight and didn't ruin the pleasant atmosphere between him and Sasuke.

Naruto put Sasuke's breakfast in front of him and remembered the scene that occurred earlier in the morning. He didn't want Sasuke to mention it, it would ruin everything. Sasuke quietly ate and unlike their usual uncomfortable silence, it was calm. Sasuke was focused on his food and Naruto watched him, feeling happy.

"Oh yeah, weren't you working on some really complicated jutsu?" Sasuke asked. Naruto stared in awe. Today was too good to be true. Sasuke was taking interest in his clan jutsus, in his practice, in his progress? Naruto nodded frantically.

"It's a memory sealing jutsu!" Naruto said. He shot to his feet, ran to his room and brought the scroll back. "It's really difficult to get right but I've been trying really hard so I should get it right in a week or so." Naruto said excitedly, practically glowing as Sasuke watched him as he explained the dynamics of the jutsu. "And these are the signs used to undo a seal," Naruto explained doing the signs. Things were going so well today, it really was too good to be true. "Release!"Naruto uttered once he was done with the signs. Naruto looked up at Sasuke, a smile on his face. Sasuke's eyes were wide, face pale, jaw slack. "S-sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke let out a scream, clutching his head and falling off his chair.

"Sasuke?" Naruto cried. Itachi slammed open the door and ran in. Naruto grabbed Sasuke as he writhed and flailed on the ground. "Sasuke! What happened? Calm down! Sasuke!" Naruto cried.

"Get a hold of yourself, Sasuke!" Itachi shouted.

"What's happening, Itachi niisan?" Naruto cried out. "Itachi niisan!"

"Naruto, call Rin sensei here as fast as possible!" Itachi snapped. Naruto shakily got to his feet and ran to his room trying to block out the screams. He summoned a messenger frog.

"Tell Rin sensei to get here as fast as possible, it's an emergency!"Naruto said. The frog nodded and then was gone. Naruto pulled out a couple of sealing scrolls that he had and then ran back down where Sasuke was still screaming and throwing a fit. "Itachi niisan, if I can identify what's making him like this, I should be able to stop it by sealing it." Naruto said dropping the scrolls in a pile on the ground.

"Is that so?" Itachi asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. Naruto nodded. He grabbed Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke, if you can hear me, please tell me what is going on, please!" Naruto said loudly in Sasuke's ear. No response. "Sasuke!" Naruto begged. Suddenly Sasuke's hand grabbed his arm. Naruto's eyes widened at the painful grip. Sasuke's unfocused pained eyes trained themselves on him. The screams died out as Sasuke's eyes focused on him. Naruto's breath caught in his throat as Sasuke smiled sincerely at him. "S-sasuke?"

"Naruto...thank god..." Sasuke breathed before he passed out.

"What happened?" Rin slammed open the door followed by Obito. Naruto expected Obito to come. In a situation like this, Kakashi himself probably wanted to come but wouldn't be able to. Therefore, he obviously sent the people that he trusted the most and that was his team, his best friends. Third best medical ninja and almost on par with Sakura, Rin was the best idea when it came to this situation.

"He suddenly collapsed screaming." Naruto said. Rin bent down next to Sasuke, putting her hand on his forehead, hand lighting up with chakra.

"You guys OK?" Obito asked Itachi and Naruto.

"We're fine." The both of them said at the same time and that was all it took for everyone to know that they were lying.

-o-

"I'm going to go to my room." Itachi said. "You should go and sleep too." Itachi stood up. They were sitting in Sasuke's room. As far as Rin could see, Sasuke was fine. Rin suggested stress and trauma released by how tired he was from all his continuous missions. He needed to rest a day or two. Naruto understood. There wasn't a single person in the Uchiha clan that had not experienced something that traumatised them for life. Itachi and him had spent the rest of the day at home, keeping an eye on Sasuke.

"I think I'll sit here for just a little bit." Naruto said. Naruto didn't really feel like leaving Sasuke. Seeing Sasuke scream like that had scared him and he was scared that if he turned away, Sasuke would disappear just like the little Sasuke. Naruto had such a nasty feeling that Sasuke would slip from his grasp.

"Naruto, you know that I'm not supposed to leave you alone with Sasuke." Itachi said. Naruto sighed. He knew. Itachi needed sleep even though he was on an ANBU mission to watch over him. Naruto didn't want to trouble the older Uchiha by staying with Sasuke just because he was needlessly worried. Naruto knew that Itachi was worried as well. He got up and followed Itachi out of the room.

"Before that, niisan." Naruto said, stopping Itachi before he could go to his room. Naruto had to talk to Itachi about his stunt in the morning. Naruto was not going to let Itachi off lightly, even if it meant resorting to drastic measures, like letting Sakura loose on him. "What the hell was that in the morning?" Naruto snapped.

"Aw, that? I was just kissing you because you were so adorable!" Itachi grinned. Naruto's eyebrow twitched. Kissing someone because he thought they were adorable? Yeah right. If that was the case, Naruto would go around kissing a lot of things. Heck, he might even give Kurama a kiss. The fox inside him let out a growl of warning.

"What were you thinking of, taking my first kiss?" Naruto growled. Yes, that was right. Itachi of all people knew Naruto didn't let other people touch him so freely. The elders of the Uchiha clan were stingy people and although they loved Naruto, they were picky about the kind of people they let get married into the clan. They were stingy about normal people, what would they do if it involved the two Uchiha princes. Naruto didn't even want to imagine the nagging he would get from the elders.

"Your first kiss? But your mother and my mother have kissed you so many times." Itachi pointed out. Naruto wanted to jump off the roof. Did Itachi not get what he was trying to communicate? Itachi was the first prince, Sasuke was second. Naruto was engaged to the second. What would happen if he had a blown out scandal with the first prince. Naruto may be the last survivor of the Uzumaki clan, but he was not going to taint it's name. Sure Uzumakis were well known for being eccentric, weird and open minded, but they honoured promises and traditions.

"They are family! Therefore, they don't count." Naruto said firmly.

"So I'm not family?" Itachi pouted.

Naruto's mouth opened and closed like a fish. And how was he supposed to reply to that?

"Ah, I get it. You want your first kiss to be Sasuke." Itachi nodded understandingly. Naruto bristled. Gosh, the older was just trying to annoy him wasn't he? Itachi liked playing games like these way too much. "Don't worry about that, count my kiss as family. Your first kiss belongs to Sasuke." Itachi nodded.

Naruto blinked. What did he mean by that?

"Well then, goodnight, Naruto. I believe you have a mission tomorrow with Neji and Sai." Itachi turned and walked to his room.

Naruto internally cursed before going back to his room to prepare himself for the next day's mission. He packed all his needed weapons, checked his jounin vest for damages and repaired what he needed to. He'd be gone at the crack of dawn so he'd need to arrange what Itachi needed to cook for breakfast the next day.

Naruto sat down on his bed.

What a weird day. First he had that dream, Itachi had kissed him, Sasuke had treated him like a normal human being and then Sasuke had thrown a fit. He should've known that there was no way the day could be so good. His life wasn't like that. Naruto remembered he had left all of his scrolls in the seating area. That wasn't good.

Naruto went back to the seating area and picked up all of his scrolls, carefully rolling them back up. They were old scrolls so he had to be careful not to damage them. In his rush to help Sasuke, Naruto had been careless with them. Maybe he should copy down the scrolls so that he wouldn't have to damage the old ones. Naruto picked up the last one and then saw something glint in the dark. He bent down and picked it up.

It was a really simple Uchiha fan necklace. Naruto turned it over in his hands and saw K.I.S engraved on the back. Naruto's eyes widened.

_"It hurts! It hurts! Stop it! It hurts!"_

The little Sasuke's voice rang out in his head. Naruto turned went to his room, dropping all of his scrolls on the bed before running to Sasuke's room. Sasuke was lying there peacefully. He was alright. Naruto sank down in something close to relief. Why was he so scared in the first place? He sat next to Sasuke's bed, on the ground, head on Sasuke's mattress. Naruto had seen Sasuke smile at him.

"Sasuke, are you OK?" Naruto asked softly. "I really liked today. Tomorrow I'll be gone before you wake up. But I really want you to know that I really liked today."

Naruto wondered if his feelings would ever reach Sasuke. Did Sasuke even know that he liked him? Of course not, he believed Naruto's lie about liking Sakura, although that didn't help Sasuke in liking him, it just made things worse. Naruto got up and went to Sasuke's window. Naruto opened it feeling tired. He turned back to look at Sasuke's bed and then sucked in a sharp breath. Yeah, today had been going way too good for him, of course that was impossible. He calmed himself, clenching his fists. He would not be scared, he would not back away.

"So," Naruto stated, facing the little Sasuke as he stared at him expressionlessly. "What do you want from me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know this chapter is a little short, but oh well. Get ready for full on dramatics and idiocy. The only people who know exactly what is going on are Itachi, Shikamaru and Sai! This is getting fun!


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto wouldn't run away from the little Sasuke anymore. He stood firmly, looking straight into the younger's eyes that looked so empty, so lifeless. The little Sasuke walked straight up to him, craning his head up to continue the eye contact. The two of them stared blankly at each other for a while and Naruto wondered if he should make a move. Then the little Sasuke activated his Sharingan and instinctively, Naruto flinched.

"You, you killed him." Was all the little Sasuke uttered. Naruto blinked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't kill anyone." Naruto said firmly.

"You killed him!" The little Sasuke screamed. Naruto almost fell backwards. It was the first time the little Sasuke had raised his voice. Usually the little Sasuke would just be excited or just plain creepy. Well...creepy in Naruto's opinion.

"I didn't." Naruto repeated, trying to glare at the little Sasuke. "I don't even know you."

The little Sasuke turned and walked out of the room. Naruto hurried after him, a little confused. Well, it was the first time he was actually listening to what the little Uchiha had to say. Except, he wasn't really saying anything. The little Sasuke walked into his room and stood next to the pile of scrolls in Naruto's room. Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

"The memory sealing jutsu?" Naruto asked. The little Sasuke nodded. "I see, so I just have to master this jutsu?" The little Sasuke frowned at him, looking frustrated. "Then what? I don't have to master it?" The little Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You're an idiot," he muttered before vanishing.

"Hey! Wait!" Naruto cried. "Where'd you go? Don't leave me! You didn't tell me anything! I didn't understand anything you tried to tell me!" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto? What happened?" Itachi's voice asked. The older Uchiha was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorpost, his face sleepy. Naruto winced. Damn, he woke up the very person he was trying not to wake up.

"Sorry...just another one of my illusions. I'm going to sleep." Naruto said apologetically. Itachi nodded.

"If you need anything, just call." Itachi said before going back to his room. Naruto sighed. He climbed into bed. There was no use waiting around. The little Sasuke was gone and wasn't going to come back any time soon. He tried to sleep but what the little Sasuke told him was haunting him. If he unsealed his memories, would he really have killed someone important to Sasuke? Naruto prayed he hadn't. After spending fifteen minutes willing himself to sleep he fell into a restless dream.

-o-

"Neji? How many ninjas are up ahead?" Naruto asked.

"About fifteen of them. Their chakra levels suggest genin and a couple of chunin." Neji said, observing the distant ninjas with his byakugan. "They still haven't noticed our presences, but they're definitely lying in wait for us."

"We'll start with a quick sneak attack first. I'll use my ink snakes." Sai pulled out his scroll and started drawing his snakes faster than Naruto or Neji could comprehend.

"And if all is lost, we have Naruto's shadow clones." Neji finished off their plan of action.

"I was saying that we should use them in the first place." Naruto huffed.

"What do you think a sneak mission is, Naruto? We're supposed to sneak in and sneak back out with Lady Hiyori." Sai deadpanned. "Honestly, why does she always get kidnapped? This is the fifth time this year."

"Because she thinks it's fun to run around and play ninja with no proper training." Neji replied.

"Although her sword skills are pretty impressive. She had Sasuke on guard." Naruto chuckled. "But other than that, she's completely useless." They observed as Sai's snakes crawl on the ground towards the direction of the ninjas. "But why do they keep kidnapping her time after time without making any demands? They just wait for her to be retrieved. And why is it always a sneak attack? Why can't we attack them directly?" Naruto mumbled unhappily.

"Who knows? Oh well, orders are orders." Neji shrugged. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. Naruto sighed and leaned back against the tree as the three of them waited for Sai's snakes to reach their destination. Itachi had seen him off in the morning before going on an ANBU mission with Yamato sensei. Sasuke had still been out cold but Obito sensei had stayed back to make breakfast for the younger Uchiha when he woke up. "Put on your masks. The snakes are almost there." Neji said, pulling on a black mask they had been given for the mission. Naruto let out a little whine. Sneak attacks were so boring. He pulled on his mask and Sai did the same.

_I don't think I'll need your chakra this time, Kurama._ Naruto told the Bijuu inside of him.

_Hmph, do you ever really need it? You're perfectly fine by yourself._ Kurama grumbled.

_Ah, but still, I can't fight without you._ Naruto grinned.

"Mission start!" Neji said. The three of them leaped forward and ran toward the little building. The men who were standing on guard were tied up tightly by Sai's snakes, they were probably as strong as Yamato's wood element. They were struggling and cursing. How they didn't see this coming amused Naruto. "Knock them out!" Neji quietly said before using his Juuken. Naruto nodded, glad that he had activated sage mode so he could soundlessly knock out the ninjas with his frog fu. Naruto was about to strike at a ninja in front of him when Sai drew to a halt.

"Naruto! Neji san! Fall back! Genjutsu!" Sai yelled. Neji jumped backwards. Naruto's eyes widened and he moved to fall back when the ninja in front of him suddenly got to his feet and then looked into his eyes with the Sharingan. The Sharingan? Before Naruto could fall into the genjutsu, Kurama released his chakra and regulated Naruto's chakra flow. Naruto leaped backwards.

"We found the jinchuuriki! Get him!"

"They're after Naruto?" Neji cried out. Sai landed in front of Naruto, drawing Fujin and Raijin and letting them attack.

"Use your shadow clones. Don't make too much of a fuss. Leave your shadow clones and us here and go and save Lady Hiyori." Sai ordered.

"Sai! They all have the Sharingan!" Naruto said frantically.

"I know, that's why we're not looking at them! Go! We'll capture them." Sai ordered.

"But-" Naruto began.

"Naruto, that's an order from your team captain." Neji growled, using his air palm. Naruto cursed, made around thirty shadow clones and then ran towards the building entrance, using his Kurama mode to manoeuvre through the enemies while looking down at the ground. His clones threw themselves into battle with fierce cries. Naruto instantly located Lady Hiyori and then ran in the direction from where he sensed the daimyo's niece. Naruto arrived in front of the room in which the girl was contained and then bust open the door. The girl kicked at him pretty accurately even though she was tied up.

"Get away from me!" she shouted.

"Relax, Lady Hiyori. It's me, Naruto." Naruto took off his mask.

"Oh, Naruto san!" she said in relief. "Can you untie me?" she asked. Naruto nodded and quickly set himself to untying her, once all the ropes were undone he straightened up. "You came for me Naruto san!" she giggled, throwing her arms around Naruto. Naruto groaned. Not this again. Lady Hiyori had a habit of getting attached to Naruto and Sasuke the moment she saw them. It drove Sakura insane when Lady Hiyori refused to let Sakura near them and she was always insulting the pink haired kunoichi. "Sasuke san isn't here?" she pouted. Naruto wasn't really good with intimate contact, but Lady Hiyori always did this so he was used to it when it came from her.

"No he isn't, Lady Hiyori. We must escape as fast as possible, there are two other good looking men on my group, so we'll be fine." Naruto deadpanned. Lady Hiyori cheered and Naruto led her out. Sai and Neji were fighting still and so were Naruto's shadow clones. Naruto pulled on his mask again.

_Kurama, let's do a rasengan barrage._ Naruto said.

_Sure, why not?_ Kurama said. Naruto detached himself from Lady Hiyori.

"Lady Hiyori, please stand back for a bit." Naruto said, producing fifteen more clones, each making a rasengan. Luckily, none of the ninja's had noticed Naruto's presence behind them yet. Neji and Sai had already noticed them. "Charge!" Naruto yelled. All his shadow clones ran forward and Neji and Sai quickly moved out of hit range. When the smoke had cleared, Naruto released his shadow clones.

"That attack should have taken them down..." Neji said, approaching the strewn bodies slowly, scrutinizing them with his Byakugan. "What the!" Neji cried out. The four of them observed the bodies.

"They don't have the sharingan anymore! Scratch that, they're totally different people!" Naruto gasped.

"What does that mean?" Lady Hiyori asked.

They stared in silence.

"I've heard of a technique like this before." Sai spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him. "It's um...actually top secret information. We will discuss it with Kakashi sensei. First, let us take Lady Hiyori back to her home safely." Lady Hiyori pouted before she threw herself at Sai.

"I was hoping Sasuke san would come and save me, but oh well, Sai san is equally handsome!" Lady Hiyori gushed, clinging onto his arm.

_I protest, Sasuke is better looking. Although, when it comes to being handsome, I personally feel no one can beat Obito sensei._ Naruto thought. He didn't add Kakashi sensei to the equation, other than Iruka sensei no one had ever even seen Kakashi's face.

"Carry me with you, Sai san." Lady Hiyori said with big eyes. Sai looked like he was going to die.

"Oh, but I used up too much of my energy saving you, Lady Hiyori. This is Hyuuga Neji, you've never personally met him, right? He's handsome and strong and he can carry you anywhere." Sai smiled. Naruto almost laughed. Sai had learnt well. Must have been the influence of Ino. Neji looked horrified. Lady Hiyori turned to Neji and stared at him for a moment as if examining his worth and then threw herself at him. Neji tried to get out of the situation but Naruto and Sai were having none of it, and thus, Neji carried Lady Hiyori all the way back to her house.

"Naruto san, we will meet again, because we are bound by fate!" Lady Hiyori gushed before departing. They paid their respects to all the higher up officials and then headed back to Konoha.

"So, Sai, care to enlighten us on this issue?" Naruto asked as they hurried back to their village.

"I can only speak once we're in the presence of Hokage sama. This thing I've discovered could even lead to war. But we do have no doubt that Lady Hiyori was kidnapped to lure Naruto." Sai said, a frown on his face. "Another thing bothered me...their hitaite wasn't Shimo no Kuni like it usually is..."

"Ah that's right! Isn't it always Shimo no Kuni that kidnaps Lady Hiyori?" Neji asked. "This time though, before they changed into different people, their hitaite symbol was...Shijima no Kuni." Neji said. Naruto's heart leaped into his throat in instant panic.

"Shijima no Kuni? That's where Mom, Dad and Shi-" Naruto began. An ink slug hit his face, cutting off his words.

"Sorry, didn't catch that. What were you saying, Naruto?" Neji asked. Sai looked at Naruto. Ah, that was right...only Sai knew about his family and circumstances.

"Nothing, sorry about that." Naruto managed out. He prayed that Mikoto, Fugaku and Shisui were safe. If something happened to them, he didn't know what he'd do. The rest of the trip to Konoha was filled with light conversation and upon arrival they hurried to Kakashi sensei's office.

"You're finally back, Naruto, Sai. We have some urgent business to discuss. Did you have any difficulties with rescuing Lady Hiyori, by the way?" Kakashi sensei asked, fingers folded together. Only Rin and Shikamaru were in his office, which meant Obito sensei was probably taking care of Sasuke or something of that sort.

"Actually, we need to talk about that, Hokage sama." Neji said. Kakashi sensei frowned.

"Did something happen to Lady Hiyori?"

"No, but..." Neji turned to look at Sai.

"Our opponents were Sharingan users from Shijima no Kuni and what's more is, they were possessing the bodies of Shimo no Kuni shinobi through the Rinnegan's shape-shifting technique." Sai said, his face devoid of emotion.

"R-rinnegan?" Both Neji and Naruto sputtered.

"The rinnegan doesn't exist anymore!" Neji snapped. Kakashi's face was dark.

"Actually there exists a single shinobi that carries the rinnegan." Kakashi said quietly. Silence.

"Kakashi, is it alright to divulge such information to-" Rin began.

"Rin, they're all smart, level headed jounins." Kakashi said firmly. "But even so, I need to take precautions. Neji kun, you are dismissed." Neji looked hardly satisfied but he nodded, bowed and then left. "Now, this rinnegan using shinobi is a top secret existence, just like Naruto. There have been issues in several of the five great shinobi countries about how the rinnegan techniques are being used, but after contacting his village that shinobi confirmed that he had nothing to do with the incidents."

"Does that mean someone else has the rinnegan?" Sai asked.

"Not necessarily true. If you have huge reserves of chakra, you could pull off some of the rinnegan's techniques." Kakashi explained. "But to control that much chakra, you'd have to either be a very powerful Uzumaki, a perfect jinchuuriki, someone like Sakura or Tsunade sama or...a powerful Uchiha who imitates the technique at the risk of death." Kakashi sensei said seriously. Naruto felt sick. "It appears, Uchiha members who abandoned the clan during the first shinobi war are rising up in Shijima no Kuni. We know for a fact that they are after the Bijuu." Kakashi looked at Sai and Naruto. "A Kage meet has been summoned in Tetsu no Kuni and at the same time, Kage candidates are being called for a mock meeting in Amegakure."

"A mock meeting? What is that supposed to mean? At a time like this, why are people playing around?" Naruto fumed.

"A war could happen Naruto." Kakashi said. "Anything can happen in a shinobi war. That is why to ensure the safety of the future, future kage candidates must get to know each other and not make the mistakes their previous kage have." Naruto huffed.

"They want me, don't they? If you're going to leave, you're going to have to take skilled bodyguards. If the kage candidate also goes, they will have to take skilled bodyguards. Considering the situation, you're making a rash un-Kakashi sensei kind of decision-" Naruto began.

"That is why..." Kakashi grinned at Naruto. "I'm sending the Kage candidate I have been personally nurturing and taking care of." Rin chuckled and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Naruto blinked at Kakashi sensei. "Sai, this is an S-rank mission within your current ANBU mission, you will escort and be the bodyguard of Hokage Candidate, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto's jaw dropped

"M-me?" Naruto gasped and then he practically lit up with joy. "Really, sensei? Really? You made a great choice! Honestly! I won't let you down!"

"However, while I will be accompanied by two bodyguards, Kage candidates will have three bodyguards because they are inexperienced. Naruto, your three bodyguards will be Sai, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke."

Damn.

"Well then, you will depart for the meet day after tomorrow. Sai, call the Uchiha brothers. Naruto, you are dismissed." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded, bowed and then walked out the door.

"Hokage sama, is there a reason why you're sending him directly into the hands of the rinnegan user?" Naruto heard Sai ask. Naruto froze. Suddenly a very old and malicious feeling uncurled inside of him. The feeling of doubt towards everyone's motives.

"Hm...I have a hunch about this rinnegan user. I remember hearing things from Jiraiya sama when I was a child. Naruto will be safe." Kakashi answered. Feeling relieved, Naruto continued on his way. How could Naruto doubt Kakashi sensei's motives? Naruto no longer needed to be the only one to fight for himself. He had people who cared about him and that included Kakashi sensei. If Kakashi sensei said the rinnegan user wasn't dangerous, Naruto would trust him.

"Naruto!" Naruto stopped when he heard Sakura's voice. He turned. He grinned. "Did you just get back from your mission? Was Lady Hiyori a handful again? I just got out of a major surgery." Sakura said, running up to him. Her hair was in a ponytail, a sign that she had just been in the Konoha hospital.

"You have no idea. She made Neji carry her all the way to her house. Sai learnt how to reject her without sounding ridiculously weird." Naruto chuckled.

"You must be tired. Did you have lunch yet? I'll treat you." she said. Naruto's face lit up. "No, not to Ichiraku's to Yakiniku Q. I've been craving barbecue. Where's Sai by the way?" Sakura asked.

"Kakashi sensei's telling him the details of his new S rank mission." Naruto said as the two of them walked to Chouji's favourite barbecue spot.

"An S rank mission, huh? Sounds just like Sai." Sakura entered the restaurant and Naruto followed after her. "Have you seen Sasuke kun? I haven't seen him all day." Naruto winced.

"Oh, he got kind of sick from overworking himself. At least that's what Itachi san told me when I saw him leave for his ANBU mission with Yamato sensei." Naruto took the seat opposite to Sakura and picked up the menu, scanning the meat section. Whenever the team came here, Sakura would order the vegetables, Naruto would order the meat, Sasuke would order the drinks and Sai would serve everyone rice. It was their personal routine.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of Itachi san! Are the two of you dating?" Sakura demanded to know. Naruto fell over in a choking fit.

"What? No!" Naruto denied vehemently. Sakura frowned but didn't question any further.

"Well, that matches his answer. So, Naruto, who was your first kiss?" Sakura asked.

"If we're talking about what happened on Pocky day, that kiss with Itachi san totally doesn't count. I will not count it. I refuse to count it as my first kiss." Naruto said grumpily.

"Itachi san and Shikamaru said that you've already had your first kiss, the one with Itachi san not counted." Sakura said, looking like she was interrogating him. Naruto stared at her. What? That was ridiculous. Naruto had never had his first kiss before.

"I honestly don't know what they were talking about unless they were talking about my mom." Naruto shrugged. "You ready to order?" Sakura glowered at him but then called the waiter over to order. "Rosu, Karubi and Butabara." Naruto said, ordering the meat.

"For vegetables we'll have Shiitake, moyashi and kabocha. Naruto, what do you want to drink?" Sakura asked.

"Just orange juice for me." Naruto looked up from his menu.

"I'd like a strawberry shake, and we'd also like extra glasses, a water jug and pickled radishes. Thank you!" Sakura watched the waiter walk off. "I am starving," she patted her stomach. "The tension during the surgery took away all my energy."

"I can imagine that." Naruto poked at the heating grill.

"Oh yeah, did you hear, Karui might be coming over next week. Chouji wouldn't stop talking about it..."

-o-

"Well, then. I have to go help Tsunade sama with some interesting medical documents she found in the Senju residence. Let's go and visit Sasuke before dinner." Sakura said. Naruto blinked. Well it wasn't the first time that he had to visit Sasuke's house and pretend that he didn't stay there. But if Sakura was suggesting coming over before dinner, Naruto would have to cook dinner and then meet her elsewhere.

"I'll meet you at Ichiraku's." Naruto called as she ran off. Sasuke couldn't cook to save his life, Itachi could cook, but he could only cook quick and simple things. Naruto could leave the rice to him. Naruto turned and started to head back to the Uchiha compound through his own secret path.

"Oi, Naruto!" Kiba's voice yelled and he ran over, Akamaru next to him.

"Oh, Kiba, what's up?" Naruto asked.

"You're going as the Hokage candidate to the mock Kage meet?" Kiba asked, sounding disappointed and annoyed, but excited at the same time. "Lucky! I wanted to go!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" Naruto asked curiously. He thought the meeting was all hush-hush.

"Are you kidding me? The mock Kage meet is big news. Everyone's been talking about it since this morning. A lot of people wanted to be chosen, so everyone's trying to find out and then I heard Lee say something about it being you!" Kiba whined. Naruto awkwardly smiled. Ah, that was right, Kage meets and things of the sort were easily discovered in a shinobi concentrated village like Konoha. "So, who are the three guards that are going with you? Have you chosen them yet? Take me! Take me and Akamaru." Kiba said excitedly. Akamaru barked in agreement. Naruto's smile got more awkward.

"Sorry, but Kakashi sensei chose my guard. Sasuke, Sai and Itachi san will be goiing with me day after tomorrow." Naruto apologized, slightly edging away so he wouldn't have to hear the brunt of Kiba's frustration.

"Ah! Why? I wanted to go! I wanted to go!" Kiba snapped. "They say Nii Yugito is going to represent Kumogakure's Raikage! I wanted to meet her!"

"Kiba, stop throwing a tantrum. It can't be helped that Naruto has those three as bodyguards. Why is that? It's because they are the best people that can protect Naruto as a jinchuuriki." Shino spoke up, walking up to them from behind Kiba, in his usual emotionless voice. Hinata followed behind him. "You do not have the skills to protect a jinchuuriki on a level that involves the great five shinobi villages."

"Ma~ Shino kun, you don't have to say that. Kiba kun, if you work harder, I'm sure you could protect Naruto kun when he really becomes Hokage." The shy Hyuuga smiled softly.

Instantly any harsh feelings were soothed by her presence. Naruto swore that her lilac coloured eyes could cure even the most worst fits of anger. Sometimes Naruto wished they had her around more when Sasuke was in a bad mood.

"Oh, you guys." Sasuke's voice said as he drew to a halt behind them. Ouch, they were blocking the path. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, subconsciously moving out of the way.

"Yo, Sasuke. Where were you?" Kiba asked.

"Just came back from Kakashi sensei's office." Sasuke answered. Ah, he must have been getting his orders on the mock Kage meeting.

"Shouldn't you be congratulating Naruto? Why is that? It's because Naruto finally gets to live his dream." Shino said in that deadpan voice of his. Sasuke turned to look at Naruto and Naruto blinked. Something was strange. Sasuke wasn't his usual self.

"Oh yeah, about that-" Sasuke began.

"That reminds me! Hey, Sasuke, did you know your brother kissed Naruto on Pocky day? Apparently his face was hilarious! Tenten couldn't stop talking about it!" Kiba laughed and hit Sasuke's shoulder in a friendly manner. Naruto froze up, his blood turning cold. Great Shodai, no. This was it. He was going to die. It was going to be the end of him. Naruto turned to slowly look at Sasuke and saw his face was expressionless, he looked blank. Naruto had to clear things up, fast.

"Sasuke, about that-" Naruto began. Sasuke pushed Kiba's arm off of his shoulder and walked off, not even looking at Naruto. What the heck? That was totally not like Sasuke. Naruto ran after Sasuke. "Sasuke, listen to me. Oi, Teme-" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder. Instantly Sasuke shoved Naruto away harshly, glaring at Naruto with his sharingan, his eyes ice cold. Naruto let out a cry of surprise and fell backwards. Instantly Sasuke grabbed his arm, securing his fall.

"Are you OK?" Sasuke asked. Naruto stared. Did Sasuke just ask if he was OK? Something was seriously wrong. As if realizing that he was doing something outrageous, he let go of Naruto's arm, letting him crash into the ground. Sasuke turned and continued to go on his way. Naruto rushed to his feet and ran after.

"Am I OK? What the hell? The question is, are you OK, Sasuke?" Naruto snapped. "And listen to me when I'm speaking to you! That incident on Pocky day was-" Sasuke leaped onto a tree and then proceeded to jump away. "Sasuke! Don't just walk off when I'm speaking to you, you asshole!" Naruto yelled. "Damn it!"

"He looks pissed off." Sai said from behind Naruto. Oh great, Naruto forgot this guy was tailing him in Itachi's stead. Pissed off, wasn't the way to describe him. Something was terribly off and it hurt Naruto's chest.

Sasuke was no longer giving him his waspish attention anymore. He was acting like Naruto was someone that didn't exist.

It hurt.

And Naruto had no idea why Sasuke had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you after the last chapter, this totally wasn't the reaction you guys were expecting from Sasuke. Muahahaha! And, I bet you guys can guess why Kakashi is so confident this rinnegan user will not be a danger to Naruto. The stuff that Naruto and Sakura ordered are things you can actually get at a Japanese BBQ place.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sasuke kun! How are you feeling now?" Sakura asked as they entered the house. Naruto awkwardly followed behind her as Sasuke let them in. Naruto could hear Itachi in the kitchen and he could only hope that things would go well. As for Sasuke, he hadn't looked at Naruto since that incident after lunch.

"I'm fine, who the heck even told you I was sick?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto did!" Sakura beamed. "You know, the two of you really hate each other but you're actually pretty close, huh?" Sakura asked, turning to look at Naruto. Naruto looked away and Sasuke quickly turned back into the house, walking in without another word. Silence. "Heh? Wait a moment! What the heck? Why aren't the two of you squabbling or glaring at each other? What on earth happened?" Sakura asked.

"How would I know, that asshole started it." Naruto muttered. Sakura gave him a look before grabbing his sleeve and dragging him into the house.

"Sorry to intrude, Itachi san." Sakura smiled brightly. Naruto spotted one of his scrolls, wrapped in Uzumaki seal paper. He grabbed it with one of his Kyuubi mode hands before Sakura could see it. Itachi looked like he was going to laugh. Naruto made a face at him.

"It's nothing, why don't you guys stay for dinner?" Itachi asked. Well done, well done! Naruto praised him mentally. Usually when they came over, Itachi would be busy and it would just be Mikoto and Fugaku. But since Itachi had to keep an eye on Naruto, he was stuck in Konoha. Itachi's, 'let me be a good host' skills were seriously lacking and Naruto had to tutor him through it before he went to meet Sakura.

"Thank you for the offer, we'll take it!" Sakura said. "Hora! Naruto say thank you!" Sakura nudged him.

"Thank you..." Naruto bowed his head.

_Although I cooked everything, taught Itachi how to be a normal human being and live here, I still have to thank him? Damn it, he's laughing at me. I'll kill him later._

"Sasuke kun, Sai couldn't make it so he says he'll treat you to ramen later. By the way, have you heard that Naruto is representing Konoha's Hokage in the mock kage meet coming up?" Sakura asked as she took a seat across from Sasuke at the table.

"Of course he knows, he's going to be one of the bodyguards along with me and Sai kun." Itachi said, joining them at the table with juice for all of them, except, he forgot the glasses. Naruto almost face palmed. Sasuke, Naruto and Itachi were fine drinking the juice from the bottle, but Sakura was another case entirely. Naruto glared at Itachi, mouthing 'glass'.

"Oh, you're going to be his guards? I was hoping Kakashi sensei would choose me. I hear the guys from Kirigakure are really good looking." Sakura pouted. Itachi blinked at Naruto, not understanding what Naruto was trying to communicate.

_Damn it all! He's a genius ANBU but he can't guess what I'm mouthing? Is he an idiot when it comes to household chores?_

"Oh, Itachi san, I'll go get the glasses." Naruto smiled venomously at Itachi and got to his feet. The rest blinked at him and it was like a light bulb went off inside Itachi's head and he hurried to his feet as well, heading after Naruto into the kitchen.

"Sorry about that!" Itachi hurriedly apologized.

"Oh, it's OK, Itachi san. You're almost never around so it must be difficult doing things at home." Sakura giggled. Naruto glared at Itachi and then the two of them brought the glasses. "But I'm surprised, you seem to know your way around here really well, Naruto." Naruto had an excuse prepared for that.

"Itachi san sometimes helps me with my taijutsu practice when he's free." Naruto explained.

"Ah, that's why Itachi san said that he knew you since you were a kid." Sakura said nodding in understanding. Naruto blinked and then turned to look at Itachi. The secrecy that had been carefully constructed over the past few years was falling apart right in front of Naruto.

"I'm tired, I'm going to go rest, please call me when it's time to eat." Sasuke muttered, getting up.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? Rin san completely cleared you off today. Don't leave just because you're sulky." Itachi reprimanded Sasuke lightly. "Your friends are here, Sakura chan came here to see you especially, don't just leave." Naruto clenched his fists. Did Sasuke seriously not want to be in his presence. The silence was stifling.

"Um...how about we have dinner right now and I can go home early? After all, if it gets too late, my parents won't be very happy." Sakura awkwardly said.

-o-

"Oh my gosh, Sasuke kun was in such a bad mood. It gave me the goosebumps." Sakura complained as Naruto walked her home. "And he totally refused to even look at you today. What kind of fight did the two of you get into this time?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. Naruto sighed and looked away. He wanted to know too. It was frustrating.

"I don't know. He just suddenly shut up." Naruto snapped. "I don't know what I did or what he thinks I did."

"You know, I've noticed this before, but although the two of you are always at each other's throats, you guys really depend on each other, don't you?" Sakura asked. Of course, there was also the fact that it was a miracle that they had managed to hide anything from Sakura this long. She was observant and smart. She was Senju Tsunade's student after all. Everything that they had buried for the past few years could have stayed nice and hidden if Naruto didn't start getting his memories back and Sasuke didn't get such awful mood swings.

"How do I know what goes on through his head. It's probably just me that thinks that way." Naruto muttered. Sakura smiled.

"Well, I hope the two of you solve this problem as soon as possible." Sakura said. Naruto honestly doubted it. "So you'll be going to Amegakure as the Hokage candidate..." Sakura said softly. "Your dreams are finally coming true huh? I'm proud of you. And hey, isn't Jiraiya sama in Amegakure right now? You might be able to see him!" Sakura said. "Sometimes I feel like I'm too privileged. I'm the only one that actually gets to meet my teacher on a daily basis. Jiraiya sama is always travelling and Orochimaru sama...well, nobody ever _really_ knows where he is."

"Yeah, I want to see Ero Sennin again." Naruto chuckled. They arrived in front of Sakura's house.

"Well then I'll be going." Sakura said.

"Good night, Sakura chan." Naruto said, waving at her.

"Good night. Oh yeah, by the way, Naruto." Sakura said suddenly. Naruto looked at her curiously. "I noticed, all through dinner you were staring at Sasuke kun." she grinned with a wink before she darted into her house. Naruto stood there, his mouth hanging open.

"This is why women are scary." Itachi said from the shadows.

"Come on, let's go." Naruto said. Sakura had figured out that he liked Sasuke? That was bad. She like Sasuke too and Naruto felt no need to become her rival. No matter how you looked at it, if Sakura and Naruto contested, she would win. They reached the house and Itachi's shadow clone disappeared. Sasuke was sitting at the table. He saw Naruto and got up. Naruto growled under his breath. Although Sasuke hated him, he at least threw insults at him, but now, he was ignoring Naruto. Naruto refused to stand for that. "Sasuke." Naruto grabbed his shoulder. "What is wrong with you?" Naruto demanded to know. Sasuke gave him a look. "OK, fine, what did I do wrong this time? Was it the pocky day issue? I swear I have an explanation for that but you refuse to listen to me!" Naruto yelled. Naruto was tired. He'd held on for so many years with the moments that Sasuke and him actually conversed, but with Sasuke ignoring him like this, everything that Naruto was clinging to was falling apart. He was tired and it hurt.

"I don't want to hear an explanation." Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"Then why are you acting like this?" Naruto yelled, spinning Sasuke around and grabbing his collar. "What did I do wrong this time? If I did something wrong then yell at me! Glare at me! Heck, punch me if you want to!" Naruto yelled. Itachi was at the end of the hall, watching them, but Naruto could care less. "Act like your normal self!"

"I honestly don't feel the need to explain myself to you." Sasuke said blankly. That did it. Naruto socked Sasuke in the face. Sasuke fell over.

"If I don't know what's wrong with you, if you keep acting like this, we may as well tell the whole world you're engaged to me, bastard!" Naruto snarled. All he ever thought about was protecting Sasuke and Sasuke was acting this way without regard for anything that might happen for the first time since Naruto had ever known him. It scared Naruto. Sasuke's fist met Naruto's chin, sending Naruto crashing into the ground.

"Don't threaten me, Uzumaki." Sasuke growled. Naruto saw red. He kicked Sasuke's legs, knocking him off balance. He jumped to his feet and slammed his fist into Sasuke's nose. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist, yanked him down and punched his jaw. Naruto fell to the ground. Sasuke's leg kicked his ribs. All Naruto felt adrenaline, anger and fear. The two broke out in into a full on brawl and they were probably an ugly sight to see.

"Both of you stop it." Itachi ordered, grabbing Sasuke's wrist and stopping them. Naruto's eyes cleared and he realized Sasuke had been about to hit him with a downsized chidori. "I was going to leave the two of you alone, but then the two of you added your powers into the fight." Naruto realized in his anger, his eyes were red and his nails were long and sharp. The nails of his right hand were buried in Sasuke's left arm. Itachi pulled the two of them away from each other. "Both of you apologize right now." Itachi said sternly. Naruto looked away. He didn't want to apologize. Sasuke cursed and then marched out of the house. Naruto furiously rubbed at his burning eyes, refusing to cry.

"I'm going to go sleep." Naruto mumbled. "Good night, niisan." Naruto turned and then walked to his room. Just when the little Sasuke had disappeared as well. Was he cursed or something? Once one bad thing was over, another bad thing happened? He heard Itachi sigh heavily from the hallway. Naruto threw himself onto the bed and willed himself to sleep.

-o-

"Please change my guard. I would prefer not to have Sasuke on the team." Naruto muttered, looking anywhere but Kakashi sensei's face. Rin and Shikamaru were staring at him. Naruto had an entire night of thinking and a nightmare that he was kicked out of the Uchiha complex because he beat up the Uchiha Prince. He probably looked like a mess.

"What happened to your face Naruto? Did you anger Sakura?" Kakashi sensei asked. Naruto felt like he was going to get a headache. He felt queasy. Sasuke hadn't come back the night before and Itachi had merely sighed at breakfast.

"I got into a fight with Sasuke last night." Naruto deadpanned.

"Uh-huh. And why hasn't Kurama healed you yet?" Kakashi asked.

"Because he says I'm stupid and decided to teach me a lesson." Naruto sighed. He could still hear his argument with Kurama in the morning ringing in his ears. Every inch of Naruto wanted to find out where Sasuke was but he was being stubborn. Naruto didn't fall in love with a Sasuke that ignored his existence. But then that raised the question, what did Naruto fall for?

"I'm sorry Naruto. I'm afraid I can't change your guard. I didn't just chose your guard on a whim. I discussed it with Tsunade sama, Jiraiya sama and Orochimaru sama. Sai and Itachi were put in your guard because it's their current ANBU mission. Sasuke was added to your guard because aside from Itachi, Sasuke is probably the strongest Sharingan user aside from Itachi. We can't underestimate your enemies, Naruto, there is a chance they could attack at the meeting. We need Sasuke for that time." Kakashi said. Naruto pouted angrily. "Also, after talking to the Uchiha elders of your departure, they said that Sasuke should go with you." Naruto couldn't fight with that.

"Stingy." Naruto mumbled, unhappily.

"So, what was the fight about?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't feel the need to tell you, sensei." Naruto huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Was it romantic in nature?" Kakashi asked.

"Please don't make up your own fantasies, sensei. It physically hurts." Naruto dully said, sending a look at Kakashi.

"You'll be fine. Trust me, I bet you something will happen during the meeting! And then you can bring back the good news to Konoha!" Kakashi smiled. Naruto wanted to face palm himself. How many times had Kakashi sensei given him assurances like this? Ever since Kakashi had become his sensei, Kakashi knew about Naruto's situation. He was pretty smart like Shikamaru so Naruto couldn't hide his feelings from Kakashi and his sensei had tried to give him advice many times. Advice that was almost as useless as Jiraiya sensei's.

"My reason for coming here has become moot. I'm going to go now." Naruto said.

"Oh wait, Naruto, the decoding department finished restoring two of the Uzumaki scrolls. You should drop by there and pick them up." Rin spoke up. Naruto thanked her and hurried towards the decoding department. Naruto opened the door.

"Excuse me for intruding, I heard two more scrolls have been restored..." Naruto trailed off when he saw Sasuke standing there in the door way. His arm was bandaged, but he was still bruised, pretty much like Naruto. Naruto's eyes quickly shot down to the ground, swallowing painfully. Sasuke thanked Shiho for the message and then walked out, right past Naruto.

"Oh, Naruto kun! We do have those scrolls! I'll give them to you right away. Please wait here!" Shiho said, hurrying deep into the sealed off restoration room. Since Naruto's existence was a secret, most of the scrolls were being restored in secret. Shiho came out with the carefully wrapped scrolls with seals on them. "Here you go, Naruto kun! Have a good day!" Shiho waved as he walked out. Eager to see what the scrolls were about, Naruto started to head directly back to the Uchiha compound when Ino stepped in front of him.

"Sai's following you around today, isn't he?" she asked with a smile. On cue, Sai stepped out of the camouflage that he was using. "That's great! I need help in delivering flowers. The two of you will help me and be my delivery boys, come on now. I've been out on missions for so long that requests have piled up. Come along now." Ino grabbed their arms and dragged them with her.

"Ah, but Ino, I need to read these-" Naruto began, desperate to get out of her clutches. The woman was too scary.

"Your beautiful antique scrolls can wait." Ino said. "And if the Hokage candidate delivers our flowers, we'll get better business." Ino used Naruto's shadow clones to her full advantage that day, even making Naruto go around with Sai. When it was lunch time, Naruto discovered she ordered bento for each of them. The three of them sat down to eat.

"Wah, this bento is really good." Naruto said opening one of the scrolls as he ate.

"Say Naruto, were you always in love with Sasuke?" Ino asked. Naruto choked violently on his rice. Ino patted his back and handed him water.

"What the- how did you-" Naruto coughed out.

"Well, you see. I've always been observant. I once met the Yondaime when I was younger. He was talking to my dad about how his child would marry the youngest Uchiha Prince. When I discovered you were the Yondaime's son, I put two and two together. Then I remembered the way you interacted with Itachi san and then how you interacted with Sasuke kun. Then I realized that you've actually been in love with Sasuke kun all this time." Ino nodded.

"Never underestimate a Yamanaka," Naruto muttered.

"But Sasuke kun more or less doesn't really look at you, huh?" Ino asked.

"Ouch, way to be tactful, Ino." Naruto sneered unhappily. Sasuke and his feelings for Naruto were a sensitive topic at the moment.

"Why don't you just be more active and seduce him?" Ino asked. "Sasuke kun seems like the guy who would have a tough times if he's stretched to the edges, so if you seduce him he might snap." Ino suggested thoughtfully. Naruto was scarlet.

"I CANNOT DO THAT!" Naruto emphasized loudly.

"Come on, it's not that bad. All you have to do is pretend to be slightly tipsy and strip a little and press up against him and-" Ino began.

"I don't want to hear another word!" Naruto almost wailed. "Please let me eat my food in peace!" Silence and Ino continued with her food. Sai hadn't been paying attention to their conversation so he was almost done. Naruto gratefully continued to eat his food. When he was only left with some kimchi, Ino slammed her empty bento down on the counter of the flower shop.

"But seriously, give it a thought! Imagine Sasuke shoving you down, mouth against your neck and-" Ino started babbling again. Naruto shrieked, almost throwing his bento into the air. His hands were clapped over his ears, face red. Damn it, if he couldn't sleep peacefully that night, he'd kill Ino. Of course he had fantasized about these things. But it was all unattainable. When Ino had shut her mouth and calmed down, Naruto uncovered his ears. "I totally want to see the two of you make out though..." Ino pouted.

"Never going to happen." Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "Uchiha Madara will attack before that happens."

"Speaking of Uchihas...welcome Obito sensei! How can we help you?" Ino asked. The older Uchiha walked in, looking around at the flowers.

"Hey there, I'm not really here for flowers. Naruto, Sai, you guys have to go the Hokage's office." Obito gestured at them to follow him. Naruto and Sai hurried to their feet.

"Thanks Ino, I had fun. You really cheered me up!" Naruto grinned before he ran after Obito sensei.

"If you want to know," Obito said as they walked to the Hokage's office, "Sasuke stayed at Lee's place last night." Naruto nodded, at least relieved that Sasuke had found a proper place to sleep. They walked to the office and knocked before entering. Itachi and Sasuke were already there. The Uchiha elders, Tsunade and Orochimaru were there as well. Naruto quietly lined up next to Sai, standing at the end.

"Tomorrow morning the four of you will head to Amegakure for a meeting that will last a week. The host village Amegakure will have planned the events for the meeting. The four of you will try to remain calm and composed. It's not good to enter the meeting knowing nothing of those you will be seated with, so Tsunade sama, Orochimaru sama and Jiraiya sama gathered up some resources to help the four of you out." Kakashi explained.

"It appears the candidates being sent are all obscure people who don't have much information put down. Starting from Kumogakure, either Darui, Killer B or Nii Yugito will be at the meeting. As for the guards, we haven't been able to gather any information. From Kirigakure, we haven't gotten much information, but it seems that they have a bubble jutsu user that will be coming. There is a possibility a Hozuki might be a part of the guards." Tsunade explained. Naruto's eyes widened. Bubble jutsu? That sounded so cool!

"From Sunagakure, it appears that Gaara will be representing the Kazekage. We have naturally assumed that Temari and Kankurou will be a part of his guard. It also seems that they might have Sasori of the red sands on the guard." Orochimaru continued. Naruto internally cheered. Gaara was one of the few close friends he had from a different country. "From Iwagakure, it seems it might be the current Tsuchikage's granddaughter. In the guard, there might be an unusual explosion jutsu user." Orochimaru finished.

"Jiraiya sama sent some resources on Amegakure but they are very obscure. The one representing the next leader and host is a rinnegan user that may have some former ties to Konoha. There is no information on the guards however Jiraiya sama assumes that they are all fairly strong." Kakashi sensei finished. Naruto frowned. The villages they knew the least about were Amegakure and Kirigkure.

"Understood," Itachi spoke up.

"Here are some of the political documents the four of you might want to study up on tonight." Shikamaru handed each of them documents.

"I'll be seeing you guys off in the morning. I'll hand each of you special medical packs." Rin said. "Kurama, we're going to heal Naruto, so please don't stop his healing process." Naruto's eyes darted towards Sasuke who was looking down at the ground, clenching his fists. "As soon as we're done here, Naruto and Sasuke will follow me to the hospital."

"Sasuke, Itachi and Sai, there is a high chance brawls will start. Most of the candidates are young and have sharp tongues and are also extremely hot blooded. While the rinnegan user will probably quell these fights, it is your duty to protect Naruto should any harm approach him before the rinnegan user stops him - although I doubt that'll happen - you are also to stop Naruto from acting up." Kakashi explained. Naruto almost protested. He would try to behave himself.

"Understood." Itachi, Sai and Sasuke said as well.

"Now, finally, I am about to tell you classified information that only Naruto, Sai, Mikoto san and Fugaku san know. Itachi may have already guessed this." Naruto wanted to stop Kakashi sensei, he didn't want Sasuke to know anything. "There are Uchihas who have defected from the clan in Shijima no Kuni. They are assumed to be extremely powerful and I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few of them had the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan." Kakashi said seriously. All of them started. That would make them extremely pesky opponents. Itachi looked like he was brooding, Sai was expressionless as usual and Sasuke looked worried for his parents. Naruto was worried too. He knew Fugaku and Shisui could use the Mangekyo, but he knew nothing of Mikoto's sharingan state. He was a little scared. He would be destroyed if he lost his parents a second time. "We aren't sure what their objective is, but we know for a fact that they want to kidnap Naruto." Sasuke was the only one who acted up in surprise at this statement. His head shot up and he turned to look at Naruto. The moment he looked at Naruto, Naruto turned to look back at Kakashi. "There is a high chance that they might attack the meeting. I don't know if they know of the existence of the rinnegan user, but hopefully even if they attack, they won't be able to get past him. If they manage to get past him, they will probably be extremely weakened. The three of you will protect Naruto with your lives." Kakashi ordered. "When you arrive there, I want you to talk to the rinnegan user about these circumstances, Itachi." Kakashi turned to look at the oldest on their group. Itachi nodded. "They probably aren't only after Naruto but the other Jinchuuriki's as well. Therefore, it's better to have everyone prepared for an attack." Kakashi stood up. "That will be all, the four of you are dismissed. Itachi drop by Shikaku san, he has something to discuss with you." All of them bowed.

"Come along, Sasuke and Naruto." Rin motioned for them to follow her and Obito gave her a little wave before going to Kakashi and whispering in his ear. Sai followed them out and Shikamaru was talking to Itachi and leading him to where his father was. "By the way, how are you feeling Sasuke kun? Any headaches or gaps in your memories?" Rin asked as they exited the building.

"No, I feel perfectly fine. In fact more clear headed than I did before." Sasuke said.

"I see, that's good." Rin nodded. "If you feel like something is wrong, we'll have Tsunade sama look at you." They arrived at the hospital and Sakura looked at them with a frown on her face.

"OK, why did the two of you get into a fight?" she demanded to know. Naruto looked away and Sasuke stayed silent. Instantly she punched the top of their heads. Naruto let out a surprised cry of pain and Sasuke grumbled, touching the top of his head tenderly. "I asked the both of you a question and you will answer me while I'm still asking _nicely_." Sakura's smile was mockingly sweet.

"I don't know, he's being the difficult one." Naruto muttered. "I asked him what was wrong with him and he called me _Uzumaki_ in that insulting tone of his."

"Ah, I can totally see where this went." Rin sighed from Naruto's side. Naruto was well known for beating up anyone that insulted the Uzumaki clan, whether they were close friends or not.

"And, Sasuke kun, may I ask why you broke the most forbidden rule when it comes to Naruto?" Sakura asked. Sasuke refused to say a word and just when Sakura looked like she was about to raise her fist again, Rin stopped her.

"We brought them here to heal them. Don't beat them up even more, Sakura." Rin chuckled. "I'm sure Sasuke has reflected." Sakura nodded and proceeded to heal them.

"Well, then," Sakura looked at them as she finished. "I'll be there to see you guys off in the morning with Rin sensei. The three of you head home, have a good dinner and sleep well. Of you go now." Naruto and Sasuke separated and went on their own paths as soon as they exited the hospital.

"Honestly, will the two of them be OK tomorrow?" Naruto heard Rin sigh from behind them.

Sasuke didn't come back home that night either.

-o-

"Does everyone have everything that you need?" Rin asked as they stood in front of her at the gate and putting in the special medical packs that Sakura handed them into their bags. They all did a double check of their provisions, scrolls, weapons and ninja tools before confirming that they all had everything they needed. It was early in the morning and since no one really knew their departure time there were no crowds around. "I would have loved for a medical ninja to accompany you guys but that would have just weighed your team down. Get there safely and on time, avoid any conflict on the way and behave yourselves. Hokage sama would have seen you off but he's preparing to depart in a couple of hours." Rin said.

"I thought you were a part of his guard, don't you have to get ready too?" Sai asked.

"I prepared everything last night, but Obito and Kakashi take forever. We were supposed to set out with you guys, but as usual, they're late." Rin grinned.

"I see, as Hokage it's better to go to meets with your team because you guys are powerful and work together very well." Sakura stated thoughtfully.

"That's right! Well then, Hokage Candidate and guards, do not disappoint us!" Rin said.

"We won't!" their group declared.

"Have a safe journey!" Sakura beamed. The four of them turned and then darted off in the direction of Amegakure.

"I really want to meet this rinnegan user and see if the rinnegan is as amazing as they say." Itachi said.

"I want to meet the guard that is strong enough to protect a rinnegan user." Sai said.

A rinnegan user. The first rinnegan user since the Sage of Six Paths. Naruto wanted to meet him desperately. He probably had answers to the questions Naruto wanted answered. He was going to meet the people who would determine the future of the Shinobi world.

Naruto was plunging into a week of rediscovering himself, uncovering dark secrets and redefining the relationship he had with Sasuke. A week right next to the rinnegan user and his famed guards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter but important in its own way. Next chapter onwards it's going to be fun! Be prepared for all hell to break loose! Not-so-dead people, clay explosions, Sasunaru chemistry, surprise eternal mangekyo sharingans and the forgotten necklace Naruto picked up the day of Sasuke's fit. See you guys! Sayonara~


	9. Chapter 9

_"You're leaving?" Naruto pouted up at his favourite cousin. He clutched the end of Kushina's dress as he looked up at the fifteen year old red head. His cousin chuckled, bent down and patted his head. Next to him was the male's mother. Kushina hugged the woman, looking ready to cry._

_"I'm going to miss you, Fuso." Kushina said._

_"I couldn't really do much. I feel like I am needed there." Fuso smiled softly._

_"Oi, Ise, take care of my neechan!" Kushina snapped._

_"I will," Ise, the black haired man on the sidelines bowed his head slightly._

_"I'll come and visit." Naruto's cousin told Naruto with a wide grin. "And when I come I'll bring rare sweets and ramen!" Naruto beamed._

_"You will? You will?" Naruto asked, jumping up and down excitedly._

_"Yes, I will, lots and lots of them!"_

_"Yay! You're the best niichan!" Naruto hugged the older boy around the legs._

_"We're ready to go as well." Another red headed woman with short hair came out with bags. She was followed by a redheaded girl who was just a little taller than Naruto._

_"And you have to leave too, huh, Mariko?" Kushina asked with a frown. "How on earth did you fall in love with someone in a different village?"_

_"Well, I couldn't help it. It is one of Konoha's allied villages. Being sent there so many times to help Medical ninjas, and he is just like Kazeha." Mariko said awkwardly._

_"I'll miss you." Naruto told the little girl._

_"Well, I won't miss you, baaaaka." The little girl stuck out her tongue._

_"Neechan!" Naruto cried with tears in his eyes._

_"Now, now, don't bully Naruto." The fifteen year old said._

_"Well, if he's crying, I'll have to miss him." the little girl pouted and hugged him. She kissed his forehead. "Bye Naruto! Don't forget to practice your jutsus!" she took her mother's hand and they started heading out._

_"Be a good boy Naruto! When I come back, if you've been good I'll teach you some very nice jutsus!" the fifteen year old called, waving as he walked out with his mother and father._

_"Mommy, they'll come back, right?" Naruto asked, looking up._

_"Of course, they promised you, didn't they?" Kushina, picked him up and littered kisses all over his face._

_"That's right! They promised me! When they come back, I'll show them just how awesome I've become! I promise!" Naruto grinned._

_"Naruto..." Naruto heard his father's voice. Naruto turned and he was standing in a sea of blood and matching red hair. Naruto fell to his knees, crying and sobbing._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I couldn't keep my promise! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, niichan, neechan!"_

-o-

Naruto started awake, covered in cold sweat. He turned on his side and saw that Sasuke and Sai were asleep. Itachi was sitting on the branch of a tree, keeping watch. It was still dark, but the sky had slightly lit up, a calm blueish gray. Naruto sat up, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Kurama said good morning and Naruto greeted him in return, showing him the dream he had. He checked his weapons and belongings and then went to go sit with Itachi on the tree branch.

"Couldn't sleep?" Itachi asked.

"Bad dream." Naruto answered.

"We're at the border, huh? The past three days have been too long and silent with you and Sasuke having a cold war." Itachi dryly said. Naruto winced. Naruto and Sasuke hadn't said a word to each other the entire trip. "You can see the constant clouds that always hang over this country." Naruto looked at the looming clouds.

"Do you think we'll run into Jiraiya sensei?" Naruto asked.

"If we go to an indecent place, we might." Itachi said sourly. Naruto chuckled.

"You're just scared of women, Itachi niisan." Naruto rested his head on his hands. "I wonder what awaits me in this country that always rains."

"Who knows? We should be able to reach our meeting place in a couple of hours. Then we can meet that rinnegan user." Itachi said normally. But Naruto knew better.

"Itachi niisan, you're really excited about meeting the rinnegan user, aren't you?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously I am! Aren't you?" Itachi asked.

"I am, but you're like three times more excited than I am." Naruto said firmly.

"Well, who do you want to meet the most?" Itachi asked.

"The bubble jutsu user! I mean, it sounds so cool! And if you think about it, he's from Kirigakure. Kirigakure is the one place who's jutsus are the most mysterious!" Naruto explained excitedly.

"Although I think the most mysterious jutsus belong to the Uzumaki clan." Itachi deadpanned.

"You're just upset that there's an entire clan full of jutsus that you can't use!" Naruto cackled.

"You're awfully happy about that..." Itachi muttered.

"Well, duh. It makes me so mysterious and powerful." Naruto grinned.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're badly wanted in ANBU for the way you sealed away that girl's anger." Itachi waved his hand. Naruto blinked and Sasuke who was still lying on the ground sat up.

"Sealed away anger? That's a forbidden jutsu that I've never used. It takes a lot of practice and precision and is kind of useless in a real fight because you have to have your fingers pressed against the target's forehead the entire time. You can seal away all kinds of emotions if you understand everything that's behind that certain emotion being expressed at that time. I've never used that, in fact, I don't know if I even can use that. I've never practiced it, so I wouldn't know." Naruto waved his hand. Itachi looked confused.

"But the ANBU members won't stop talking about how calm and composed you were when you were doing it and even Shikamaru was amazed when he saw it." Itachi said. Naruto stared in utter bafflement.

"But I've never used that jutsu before!" Naruto snapped. "You can't do it unknowingly and it's not the kind of jutsu you can just forget about because of its multiple conditions."

"Hm...Interesting..." Itachi said.

"How long are you going to chat? I'm dying for a good breakfast, so let's reach our lodging by at least ten." Sai called.

"Ah, that's right." Naruto jumped to the ground, followed by Itachi. The two of them went to go grab their things and Naruto briefly glanced at Sasuke as he pulled on his bag and pouch. He was left speechless.

He could see a little bit of red that was decorating Sasuke's cheeks.

Was Sasuke blushing?

"Well then, let's go." Itachi said. Naruto tore his eyes away from Sasuke's face and then he followed Itachi. The trip was relatively quiet, especially since it started raining. They had to be careful not to slip. If the sun had come up, they didn't notice, they were under the relentless rainclouds of Amegakure.

"By the way, how will lodging arrangements be like, does anyone have any idea?" Sai asked.

"Hm, I'm not sure, but although it is a strong country, economically it is rather average." Itachi answered. "So don't expect too much."

"We won't," Naruto and Sai said. Sasuke was silent as usual.

"I'm glad that we at least know the Sunagakure group. They're a pretty strong bunch and ever since we went to Kumogakure to befriend our Bijuu, Gaara has become more light hearted." Naruto explained.

"Ah that's right, for the 'Perfect Jinchuuriki' project you and Gaara kun went to Kumogakure together, right?" Itachi asked.

"Yup! It's been a while since I've seen him so I'm really looking forward to this." Naruto said happily.

"The Five Great Shinobi Nations are already close but with this meet we'll be even closer. This meeting is a good idea. And with the threat of Shijima no Kuni looming, it will be great if we have immediate aid coming." Itachi said.

"Isn't our meeting place somewhere in that thick forest?" Sai asked.

"Wow, it really is thick, must be because of the rain." Itachi said as they drew to a halt in front of the forest.

"How do we find our way through this?" Naruto muttered.

"Are you the Konoha party?" A male stepped out of the shadows. Instantly everyone tensed up.

"Yes, we are." Itachi said. The man's eyes were completely white and not like a Hyuuga's lilac eyes but white without an iris and pupil.

"I'm here as a guard to guide guests through the forest. Please follow me. This forest does not let anyone use chakra until they have reached the heart of the forest, so it is a natural shield." They followed the man through an obscure winding path through the forest. Just to test if what the man said was correct, Naruto tried a henge. It didn't work. After what seemed like fifteen stifling minutes they arrived at a large clearing and Naruto felt the pressure on his chakra disappear. There was a huge building that was divided into two. One part was large and round and looked like the Hokage building and the other part was long and thick like the Konoha Hospital. "So far, only the party from Iwagakure have arrived. The rest are on their way." the man informed them, opening the door of the thick building. "I will show you to your room." He led them to the staircase and to the second floor. he opened the third room and let them enter. It was a large and spacious room with four beds and a door leading to the bathroom. There was a closet, table and mirror. Sai's bag landed on the bed farthest from the door.

"I call this bed." he said. Itachi was instantly seated on the bed next to Sai.

"This bed is mine. Naruto, you take the bed next to me." Itachi patted the bed next to his. Naruto cringed. That meant he'd have to sleep next to Sasuke.

"Meals will be served in the dining room on the bottom floor at the end of the hall. Your breakfast will be served in an hour. I apologize for the poor welcome but our Amegakure group is dealing with a small fight between a couple of villages at the border. They should be here in the afternoon. Other parties will be arriving shortly." the male at the doorway said. "I will head back to my post. If you will excuse me." He bowed, turned and walked away, the door swinging shut next to him.

"This is a nice place." Sai said. "Staying here for a week isn't so bad."

"And personally, I feel that this group is more than capable. Also, Hokage sama was certain that no harm would come to us. His hunches should never be underestimated." Itachi stated, shedding his wet cloak and opening his hair to dry. "Ah, but the rinnegan user isn't here yet."

Naruto sat on the bed that Itachi had offered him and Sasuke sat down as well.

"I'm going to take a bath." Sai said, getting up and going into the bathroom, promptly shutting the door.

"I'm going to scout the outside. We can't be too certain of anything." Itachi got up. Naruto's eyes widened. And leave him alone with Sasuke? No thank you! But before Naruto could say a word, Itachi was gone.

Silence.

Naruto wanted to curse his luck. Sasuke wasn't saying a word, he was rummaging through his pack. His sword was placed, leaning against his bed. Naruto wanted to disappear. The awkwardness was killing him. Sasuke arranged everything that he had and then sat still. Maybe Naruto should have run after Itachi at all costs. And have Itachi murder him for wasting his precious alone time with Sasuke. Yeah, Naruto wished he could disappear. Maybe he should read some of the scrolls that he brought and-

"I'm sorry." Sasuke uttered. Naruto almost stopped breathing.

"W-what? Y-you're t-talking to me?" Naruto asked, pointing at himself. "What do you have to be sorry for? It's not like-" Naruto started to babble.

"I have a lot of things on my mind and at the moment, I need to sort them out. I took out my anger and frustration on you when I shouldn't have." Sasuke said calmly. Naruto stared. He shot to his feet, pointing wildly at Sasuke.

"Don't apologize like that! Not only is it creepy, it sounds ridiculously insincere! And haven't you always taken out your anger and frustration on me? If it was the usual, it wouldn't be a problem! So you tell me, what did I do wrong?" Naruto snapped.

"Nothing." Sasuke snapped right back.

"Honestly, I'm going to step out," Naruto muttered, turning to the door.

"You shouldn't head out by yourself." Sasuke said.

"I think this place is safe enough." Naruto opened the door and stopped as he saw the white eyed man leading Gaara, Temari, Kankurou and another read head in. "Gaara!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Naruto..." Gaara said.

"Oh it's Naruto...and Sasuke." Kankurou said.

"This meeting will be lively." Temari looked tired. Sai chose that moment to walk out of the bathroom. "Oh, and also Sai. Do you only have emotionless and gloomy people on your guard Naruto?" Temari asked. Naruto had a feeling that she was asking if Shikamaru was his other guard.

"Well, Itachi is interesting, but he's and Uchiha..." Naruto said.

"I see. Naruto you haven't met this person yet, right? This is Sasori of the Red Sands." Gaara said, gesturing to the red head.

"Ah, I see. Pleased to meet you, I am Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto bowed slightly.

"Oh yes, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. I would love to study how your body works." Sasori said, looking at him from head to toe. Naruto went scarlet.

"Don't pay any attention to what this creep says. He's obsessed with puppets so he is fascinated by human bodies." Temari said, rolling her eyes. "You guys can relax." she added. Sasuke and Sai were right behind Naruto with their swords drawn.

"Oh, the Sunagakure group has arrived?" Itachi came over. He introduced himself. "I see, so you are Sasori of the Red Sands. I have seen some of your puppet corps. They are fascinating opponents for those who rely on their doujutsus like me." Itachi grinned.

"Now that three groups have arrived, breakfast has been laid out in the hall. I will show the Sunagakure party their room. Those from Konoha may start their breakfast. I believe the Iwagakure party is already there." The man with white eyes stated.

"Thank you for the information." Itachi said. They locked their room and just in case, Naruto put a seal on the lock and they went to the breakfast hall. Just as predicted, four other people were there.

"Which one is the Tsuchikage Candidate?" Naruto whispered.

"That would be Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter. She's by the bread tray." Sai whispered. Suddenly a male with blond hair tied in a pony tail and a section covering half his face marched up to them.

"Which one of you is the Hokage Candidate?" he demanded to know. Naruto blinked.

"Ah, that would be me." Naruto said.

"You, huh?" the male observed him. "I'm Deidara, I'm going to the be the future Tsuchikage, un!" he said. It wasn't Kurotsuchi? Naruto grinned, feeling a little bit of life sparked into him.

"Well, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto said firmly.

"Deidara nii, what are you doing? Just because you're the Tsuchikage candidate doesn't mean you blow up in everyone's faces, baaka." Kurotsuchi said in a lazy tone.

"What was that, Kurotsuchi? Do you really want me to blow up in everyone's faces? I could! It would be a work of art, un!" Deidara snapped.

"Ah, so this is where we have our meals." The Sunagakure group showed up behind them. "This looks like a fascinating place, isn't that right, Deidara?" Sasori asked, looking at Deidara, an amused look in his eye. Deidara went scarlet.

"Hora! Sasori san, don't make Deidara blow things up so early into the meeting! He'll be worse than the Raikage." Kurotsuchi called. Deidara quickly returned to his spot next to a burly but young looking man.

"Hai, Hai. I hear you, Kurotsuchi." Sasori said.

"You know the Iwagakure group?" Naruto asked Gaara.

"Sasori knows them, he frequently visits their place for the supply of their special wood." Gaara answered.

"Hm..."

Breakfast was rowdy on Deidara's part. He and Kurotsuchi wouldn't stop arguing. The other two on Deidara's guard was a male about Kurotsuchi's age named Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi's father who was named Kitsuchi. Sai and Sasuke headed back to the room after breakfast, as did the Iwagakure group. Temari and Kankurou also left. Naruto stayed back to discuss things with Gaara and Itachi was discussing the puppet corps with Sasori.

"How has Kurama been doing?" Gaara asked.

"He's doing great, what about Shukaku?" Naruto asked.

"He gets restless when he hasn't had a fight in a while, but otherwise, he's doing fine as well." Gaara explained. Naruto chuckled.

"Well, that's just like Shukaku." Naruto said.

I hear they have a space behind the building large enough for three Bijuus." Gaara said. "It's supposed to be for training. We haven't trained together since our trip to Kumogakure. Do you want to go and just test yourself?" Gaara asked, looking pretty excited in his own way. Naruto felt his entire being light up at the thought of training with Gaara again.

"Sure, let's go check it out!" Naruto shot up. Gaara got up as well. Without even being told, Sasori and Itachi followed them, still talking animatedly about the possibilities of bringing the puppet corps to life. Naruto and Gaara manoeuvred themselves around the building and Naruto gaped at the canopy of trees with winding branches and huge roots that formed the perfect training ground.

"This is amazing..." Gaara said.

"Well then, shall we start?" Naruto asked, going into Kyuubi mode.

"Very well," Gaara said going into Ichibi mode. Both of them made the seal of confrontation.

"Start!"' Itachi called. A moment of tensed silence and then both of them lunged at each other.

"Stop!" A rough female voice called out and then a figure landed in between them. Naruto and Gaara skidded to a halt. In the middle stood a girl with short green hair, dark skin and wings. She grinned wildly. "Nyahaha! This looks like fun! Let me in on it too!" She cackled. Itachi and Sasori were on their feet, watching the girl with caution.

"Fuu, where did you go?" A familiar female voice said. "What the heck are you doing? Oh, it's Naruto and Gaara. Don't bother, they're doing their own thing. Don't butt in!" Naruto turned. It was Karui. She was followed by Omoi and a two blonds Naruto had never seen. Naruto undid his Kyuubi mode and Gaara undid his Ichibi mode.

"Oh, Karui, you came for the meet?" Naruto asked. Naruto turned to look at Fuu. "Who are you? You're not from Kumogakure." Naruto said.

"I'm Fuu, from Takigakure! I came here cause Konan asked me to come!" She said brightly.

"Konan?" Naruto and Gaara asked at the same time.

"She's a part of the Amegakure group, apparently." Omoi explained. "Anyway, Fuu is harmless, she's always harping about how she wants to be friends with everyone." Sasuke, Sai, Temari and Kankurou had come out. Deidara and his group seemed to be too lazy to come out and were watching from the window.

"If you will, I will show all of you your rooms. Fuu sama, Konan sama has prepared a separate room for you." The white eyed man appeared behind Karui, startling her.

"Well then, see you, Naruto, Gaara." Karui said before the Kumogakure group and Fuu followed the man.

"She was interesting..." Sasori said.

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone brave enough to step in between two sparring Jinchuuriki." Itachi said.

"Reckless," Sai suggested.

"Dumb..." Sasuke muttered.

-o-

Everyone had just finished lunch and having tiny conversations in the dining hall. The Kirigakure group had arrived right before lunch. There were two white haired males with pointy teeth who Itachi identified as Hozukis, a really pretty girl and a silent male that kind of reminded Naruto of Sasuke.

"So, Sakura is the working at the hospital? How does she manage missions?" Temari asked.

"Well, Tsunade baachan and Shizune neechan are there two. There are plenty of good medical ninjas now, so Sakura can easily take time off for missions. She loves being a medical ninja, but she's a ninja through and through, she can't resist good missions." Naruto stated.

"Oh, look it's the rinnegan user." Naruto heard someone say. Naruto was about to turn when he heard something.

"What? You want me to take care of Fuu? No way? She always braids my hair!" A familiar female voice said in annoyance.

"Oh, it's not that bad, plus, Fuu will be interested in all these new people." A familiar male voice said. Naruto gasped and shoved his way to the front.

"Naruto, hey!" Itachi said, quickly going after him. The rinnegan user and the girl on his right froze, staring at Naruto. Naruto felt everything falling apart in his head. Tears filled his eyes and his heart hurt. The other two started to cry as well.

"N-naruto?" Both of them cried running forward.

Naruto ran forward and into their open arms, crying as they swept him into and embrace.

"T-they have red hair..." Itachi gasped.

"Karin neechan, N-nagato niichan!" Naruto sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Yes, Nagato and Karin! I incorporated the fact that they weren't in Konoha. I have changed Nagato's age and made him around 29 years old. The first mystery uncovered. Plenty more to come! So, wait for what happens next! It's only day zero in this week of chaos!


	10. Chapter 10

"You're alive..." Karin cried into his shoulder.

"You're safe..." Nagato cried into his hair.

Naruto's relief and joy was overwhelming him. He wanted to hold onto his two cousins and never let go. They seemed to have the same idea in mind, their grip on him only getting tighter. For years, Naruto had felt so alone. Sure he had his current family, his friends and the Uchiha clan. But there was just something different and more comforting about knowing your blood relatives weren't all dead.

"Um, how about we go somewhere less crowded?" A purple haired girl pulled them apart. It was then, Naruto remembered that they were standing in a crowd. "How about our room?" the purple haired girl asked. Nagato nodded.

"Wait, we're coming too." Itachi stepped forward followed by Sai and Sasuke. "We're his guard from Konoha." The purple haired girl nodded and they were led away. The orange haired male that was with Nagato and Karin stayed back to take care of everyone else. Karin was holding onto Naruto's left arm and Nagato was holding onto his right, as if, if they let go, Naruto would disappear.

"Who are they?" Naruto heard Sasuke ask.

"They're Uzumakis. Only Uzumakis have that deep shade of red hair." Itachi said. Once they were inside a room, Nagato looked Naruto up and down.

"You've grown so much! And you look so strong as well! This chakra signature! Are you the new Kyuubi jinchuuriki?" Nagato asked. Naruto nodded.

"You've also gotten so good looking! Where'd that chubby little kid go?" Karin asked. Naruto could only watch them fuss over him in silence. "Wait a moment! Jiraiya sama knew that Naruto was alive! He never told us!" Karin said suddenly. Nagato started.

"Oh my gosh! That's why he was always cackling by his lonesome self! That rotten geezer!" Nagato cried out. Naruto realized this too.

"He knew the two of you were alive? He's trained me for years and he never told me?" Naruto snapped angrily. "That Ero Sennin is going to die by my hands!" Naruto snarled.

"Hahaha, your in-laws are so interesting Sasuke, you had better be careful!" Itachi laughed, hitting Sasuke's back.

Silence.

"Ah, Naruto, introduce us to your guards."

"Oh, sure...This is Uchiha Itachi first prince of the Uchiha clan." Naruto introduced Itachi. Itachi bowed.

"Oh, I've heard rumours about your prowess!" Nagato said. Karin was eyeing Itachi with that look in her eye. Naruto sent her a look that said 'no touching'. Pouting, Karin looked away.

"This is Sai, he's also on my team at Konoha. He used to be majorly part of root but he's started to break away." Naruto explained.

"Root, huh?" Neither Nagato, the purple haired girl or Karin looked very happy.

"Um...but I have nothing to do with the Amegakure raid event..." Sai said awkwardly.

"Danzou lost all political power after that event." Itachi added.

"Well obviously, if it wasn't for Karin, I could've been dead by now." the purple haired girl said. "Yahiko would have been most certainly dead." she realized she had broke off the flow. "But anyways go on, who's the oh-so-excited kid?"

"He's the second Uchiha Prince also a part of my team, Uchiha Sasuke-" Naruto began.

"Seriously?" Nagato cried.

"No way!" Karin yelled. Instantly both of them were in front of Sasuke and inspecting him. "Hm, despite his frown, he is good looking." Karin examined Sasuke's face. Sasuke looked a little startled.

"So you're baby Naru's fiancé! You look strong! Plus if you were chosen to be his guard, it must mean that you can protect him well! And you're an Uchiha!" Nagato said excitedly. "So, is Naruto romantic? Or is he really shy and Tsundere?" Nagato asked.

"Um..." Naruto tried to interject.

"Who made a move first? How far have the two of you gone?" Karin demanded to know. "Is he good at household chores?" Karin asked.

"You guys..." Naruto once again tried to interrupt them.

"Does he constantly ask you for ramen and sweets? He used to be so obsessed with them. Your wallet must be emptying all the time when you treat him!" Nagato happily grinned.

"Is he picky about his vegetables as usual? He always refused to eat them, he must be a handful, right? How do you handle him?" Karin asked.

"Neechan, niichan-"

Karin and Nagato looked at each other.

"Does he still love playing the Guqin?" Both asked at the same time.

Silence.

Even Itachi looked blank.

"Um, I'm honoured to meet the two of you and I apologize for not introducing myself properly." Sasuke said, looking down, his fists clenched. Naruto realized he was following clan custom. "I'm sorry, but you see, the thing is...Naruto and I are kind of having an argument right now..." Sasuke's head lowered even more. Naruto looked at the ground as well.

"Oh..." Karin uttered.

"I told everyone what time dinner was and said formal meeting and introductions will be made tomorrow." The orange haired male opened the door and walked in. He blinked at the tensed atmosphere. "OK, what did I miss?" he asked.

"Ah, that's right!" Nagato said hurriedly. "Let me introduce you to my guard and friends." He gestured to Karin. "As everyone probably knows, this is Uzumaki Karin, she is a genius medical ninja." Karin grinned and made a v shape with her fingers. "This is Tenshi Konan, she is the lone known user of the paper jutsu, a ninja technique used long ago in Amegakure." Konan smiled softly. "Lastly, this is Yume Yahiko, a man of many assorted, odd talents and long winded lame speeches-"

"Hey!" Yahiko cried out.

"-and also my lover." Nagato said. Naruto's eyebrows shot up.

"Woah...someone who can tolerate Karin neechan's protectiveness..." Naruto said in awe.

"Keep quiet, you!" Karin whacked his head.

"Also, allow me to introduce myself formally to Naruto's friends and family." Nagato said, standing up straight. "My name is Uzumaki Nagato, bearer of the rinnegan, jinchuuriki of the Sanbi, Isobu and head of Uzumaki clan." Naruto's eyes widened. That was right. He wasn't the last Uzumaki anymore.

"T-then, I'll introduce myself properly too!" Naruto said. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki of Kurama, the Kyuubi, the future Hokage and first Prince of the Uzumaki Clan!" He was dragged into another hug from Karin.

"I can't believe this is actually happening! Naruto's alive and he's so cute!" Karin said, happily patting the back of his head. She let go of him and turned to Sasuke. "I'm a very protective older sister and although you're ridiculously good looking and your chakra is utterly beautiful, if you make Naruto cry, I'll make you cry as well!" Karin snapped.

"Neechan!" Naruto cried out in embarrassment.

"It's alright, Naruto, Yahiko's been through worse..." Nagato put his hand on his shoulder, giving him a look of pity.

"What's with that look?" Naruto asked in horror.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Nagato called. The white eyed man opened the door.

"I apologize, Nagato sama, Yahiko sama, but there are some issues that require your attention." he said.

"Oh that's right. We'll be at the office in ten minutes. Wait for us there, Yuko." Yahiko said. The white eyed man bowed and then left.

"We have work to do, we're pretty busy arranging this whole meet." Nagato chuckled. "As soon as we're free, we have to sit down and talk, Naruto. We have a lot of things to discuss. Karin, go take care of Fuu. Konan, Yahiko, let's go." All of them exited the room and Naruto watched them head in the other direction.

"Your in-laws are scary as hell, Sasuke." Itachi said after a moment of silence. "Anyway, let's head back to the room."

"I'll go get a glass of water." Naruto said.

"I'll come with you." Sai said, turning to look at Itachi for approval.

"Yeah, sure, be back as fast as possible, I'm sleepy, so I'll lock up the room and put up barriers." Itachi said. Naruto and Sai nodded and headed back to the dining area while Itachi and Sasuke headed towards the room. Naruto poured himself a glass of water and Sai took a seat.

"Naruto, wouldn't one of your clan members be able to use the Uzumaki chakra chains?" Sai asked. Naruto blinked.

"I don't want to know how you found out about one of the Uzumaki top secret abilities, but there's a chance one of them might be able to use the chakra chains. However the chakra chains require absolutely precise chakra control and use and the ability to manipulate your raw chakra the right way. It's something that every Uzumaki can use with the right amount of practice. If I practiced hard enough, even I'd be able to use them." Naruto explained.

"Hm, I see. So although everyone calls you an idiot and although you are one, when it comes to anything about your clan, you become a genius." Sai nodded.

"Huh, what's that supposed to mean? Are you picking a fight?" Naruto snapped. Naruto drank his water and then the two of them headed to their room.

"Sasuke, where did you lose your necklace? I've been meaning to ask, but I didn't get the chance to." Naruto heard Itachi's voice. Naruto remembered, he picked up Sasuke's necklace the night of Sasuke's fit.

"I must've misplaced it somewhere at home. I've been looking for it." Sasuke's voice replied.

"You can't lose that. That's one of the only few things we have left of-" Itachi began, sounding desperate.

"I know, that's why I'm so careful with the necklace. I swear by rikudou, it's at home." Sasuke said. Naruto turned to look at Sai in surprise. Even Sai looked surprised. It was the first time Naruto had ever heard the two of them get so emotional about something. Naruto knew he had the necklace in his bag. Maybe he should go in and quickly give it to Sasuke.

Naruto moved to open the door.

"Naruto better not have found it." Sasuke said.

Naruto froze. The necklace was something he should not have found? Maybe it was just Sasuke saying that and being his usual self. Naruto waited for Itachi to say something to rebuff Sasuke but heard nothing. Swallowing, Naruto pushed open the door.

"I'm back," Naruto said normally.

"There you are, Naruto. Say, can you tell me how you're related to Nagato and Karin and how come you knew nothing about Nagato's rinnegan?" Itachi asked. Naruto sat down on his bed.

"Hm, to be exact, both of them are my cousins. Their mothers were my aunts, meaning my mother's sisters. In the Uzumaki clan, when you marry into an inferior clan, and your children have the dominant Uzumaki streak, you end up an Uzumaki even if you are a female who's married into a different clan. That is how it is with Nagato niichan's mom. She married an inferior clan but the Uzumaki clan was the dominant one and thus, Nagato niichan remained an Uzumaki. As for Karin neechan, she's a full Uzumaki. Her father however died two years after she was born and later on, her mother remarried. Nagato niichan's mom and dad came to Amegakure several years ago because they felt that they were needed in this war wrecked area. Nagato niichan's father was a doctor and his mother was a skilled medical ninja, blessed with some of the best Uzumaki traits. Karin neechan's mom helped out Kusagakure a lot and eventually fell in love with someone in Kusagakure and left Konoha." Naruto explained. "When Aunt Fuso, Nagato neechan's mom left, she was sure she would never come back, therefore she denounced her right to the head's spot. That's how I winded up as the first prince. Karin neechan on the other hand is the first princess and a pure blood. However, with the clan almost gone, Nagato niichan as the oldest remaining Uzumaki is the clan head and I'm the first prince." Naruto was having fun, explaining his family clock work. "About Nagato niichan's rinnegan, Nagato niichan used to have bangs that covered both of his eyes, I think it was to hide his rinnegan, but I do remember Nagato niichan being called a genius, special and many other words. Some of our clan members even called him the saviour of the world. Since at first he was supposed to be the next clan head, Nagato niichan rarely went out if I recall correctly, but that could have probably just because they tried to keep his rinnegan a secret." Naruto said thoughtfully.

"I see..." Itachi nodded. "I think I understand how your clan works now..." Itachi sat down on Sasuke's bed. "Naruto, you never told us that you could play the guqin." Itachi looked at Naruto accusingly.

"Um...all honesty, it was a my mother's hobby and she made me pick it up. I really liked it when my mother told me that I was a natural whenever I played the guqin, even though I was just learning the basics. I never told you guys because...well, it never came up. Of course I missed playing the guqin, but guqins are really expensive and I just wasn't so sure if playing the guqin was something that I should be doing in an Uchiha household." Naruto said, awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"But if you just told mother, then, she might have saved up money to buy one for your birthday." Itachi told Naruto.

"Oh, but I do have a guqin!" Naruto said hurriedly. "I accidentally told Iruka sensei that I missed playing the guqin and so he set aside money for several months just to buy me a guqin on my fourteenth birthday. I go to his house when I feel like playing. I've been practicing for a couple of years now, but without continuous practice, I'm not that great."

"The moment we get back home, you're going to play it for us." Itachi said firmly. Before Naruto could protest, Itachi turned to Sai. "Sai, we need to have one of your ink mice here continuously." Itachi said. Sai nodded and quickly drew an ink mouse which quickly scuttled underneath Sasuke's bed so it could watch the door.

"I'm going to go and put some mice and snakes outside of the building as well." Sai said, getting up and going out. "I probably won't be back soon, so you can sleep, Itachi san."

"OK," Itachi said. He just started to shed his vest when there was a knock on the door. Itachi opened it. It was Sasori.

"I'm going to do a small experiment with my puppets. I could use your help, Itachi san." Sasori said. Itachi stared for a moment.

"Sure, give me a moment." Itachi grabbed his weapons pouch and walked out, shutting the door. Silence. Damn it, Naruto was stuck with Sasuke by himself again. Naruto slowly turned to look at Sasuke. Sasuke was struggling with his vest, the clasp caught on his net shirt. Naruto mentally took a deep breath. If Sasuke apologized, didn't it mean he was trying to make peace with Naruto? After all, it wasn't everyday Sasuke apologized, whether he meant it or not.

"Let me help you with that," Naruto said, sitting down on Sasuke's bed, across from him, hands reaching for the tangled clasp. Naruto could do this, Sasuke seemed less icy but more distant. Naruto didn't know what happened to Sasuke, but he seemed to hate Naruto less. All Naruto had to do was move forward.

"I can do it myself, you know," Sasuke sounded insulted. Naruto chuckled. He couldn't help it, Sasuke sounded like an embarrassed kid.

"It's easier for a person not involved." Naruto explained, untangling the clasp. "See?" Naruto asked looking up with a smile. Naruto froze, Sasuke's face was close and he was staring straight at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened, red quickly dusting over his cheeks. Up close, Naruto could see all of Sasuke's eyelashes. Naruto knew Uchiha clan members had beautiful eyes, especially Shisui, but Naruto never dared to observe Sasuke's eyes. Wait a moment, did Sasuke's face get even closer? Naruto couldn't move, he didn't want to, and for some reason, the two of them were getting closer. Why did it sound like one of those shoujo mangas Ino constantly shoved in his face? Naruto went red all the way to his ears. Was Sasuke about to kiss him? Naruto's heart pounded in his ears and his eyes turned down towards Sasuke's lips. People closed their eyes in situations like this, didn't they? Naruto's eyes started to flutter shut.

"Damn it, you! Let go of me!" Naruto heard Karin's voice yell. There was banging on his door. Naruto practically leaped away from Sasuke, scarlet. "Naruto! Help me! Get off me, Fuu!" Karin shrieked. Naruto hurried to the door, heart still pounding in his chest. When he opened it, Karin tumbled in, Fuu clinging to her. Karin's hair was a mess of braids and ribbons. "Naruto, get her off of me!" Naruto grabbed the green haired girl and pulled her off of Karin. Her face was flushed and she was giggling like a maniac. "Damn Kurotsuchi! She thought it would be funny to give Fuu, sake!" Karin snarled. "Where's the kid who can restrain people?" Karin asked looking around.

"Um, he's not here at the moment..." Naruto said, restraining Fuu even though she struggled.

"Then what do we do with her? She's a danger to everyone's sanity like that!" Karin gestured at Fuu.

"Oh hey~ It's the cute whisker boy!" Fuu said looking up at him. Naruto almost cringed at the alcohol he could smell from her breath. And then Naruto shrieked when she licked his cheek.

"Fuu! What are you doing?" Karin yelled. "He has a fiancé!"

"Hm...he doesn't taste good." Fuu frowned. Sasuke was in front of her the next moment, his sharingan activated. "Woah! Sharingan! Cool!" Fuu said in giggly delight.

"Sleep," Sasuke ordered. Fuu, slumped in Naruto's arms. Sasuke grabbed at her and tossed her onto his bed. "That should do the trick." he muttered darkly.

"Oh dear, pissed off fiancé..." Karin said softly. "Um, just a question, are you pissed off because she licked him, or the fact that she said he didn't taste good?"

"Neechan!" Naruto cried. Sasuke turned to glare at Karin.

"Neither. She was an unwanted nuisance that's all." Sasuke said.

"Um...how about I fix your hair, neechan?" Naruto asked quietly. Sasuke stayed standing, glaring at Fuu while Naruto undid the braids and untied the ribbons in Karin's hair.

"Sorry Naruto, now that I look around, no one's here. Did I interrupt the two of you?" Karin asked softly. Naruto went red again.

"Nothing of the sort, neechan. That kind of thing doesn't happen..." Naruto whispered.

"Hah?" Karin asked in confusion. Naruto stayed silent. But actually, what were he and Sasuke about to do? Was Sasuke seriously going to kiss him? Naruto shook his head. No way, it must have been his imagination. That kind of thing didn't happen, never would happen. Once Naruto had fixed her hair, Karin ran her fingers through her hair, hurriedly settling it. "Then, I'm going to take Fuu back to her room." Karin got up.

"Huh? Can you do it by yourself? Should I help you?" Naruto asked.

"Don't you worry. I'm an Uzumaki!" Karin hoisted Fuu over her shoulder without a problem. Naruto was hit with an intense sickening sense of deja vu of Sakura and all the women in the Uzumaki clan. Naruto had to agree with Itachi when it came to the women in his clan. Uzumaki women were borderline terrifying. "More than that," Karin leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Do something about this unbearable atmosphere. I don't know what I interrupted, but clearly your fiancé is not happy about me being here." Karin whispered.

"E-eh?" Naruto stuttered as Karin walked out. Sasuke sighed and sat on his bed. "Um, about Karin neechan. She's always been like that, it would seem. Even as a kid, she always scared people, got annoyed easily and shoved herself into everyone else's business, but then despite that, she has a soft and lovable side..." Naruto said.

"As expected of your family. All of them are _interesting_ people." Sasuke said. Naruto wasn't exactly sure how to take that. "But, it must be a relief, to realize that you're not alone." Sasuke said. Naruto was surprised at how hard that one sentence hit him.

"Ah...that's right, I'm not alone...I...I used to hate myself...for being the only one who survived...but I'm not alone anymore...It often felt like it was the end of the world...but now..." Naruto felt tears fall from his eyes. _I thought I had killed everyone._ "I'm not alone...I'm so happy..." Naruto brought his arm up to his eyes and he cried.

"Yeah...you're not alone..." Sasuke said, leaning back against the headboard of his bed.

_Why did I think that I had killed everyone?_

-o-

"Oh...my brother-in-law isn't here?" Itachi asked during dinner. Sasuke was still getting his food with Sai.

"Don't call Nagato niichan 'brother-in-law'!" Naruto whacked Itachi's head. "At least not yet and definitely not in front of Sasuke!" After crying for about ten minutes, Naruto had gone for a shower. When he came out, Sai had returned and Sasuke went for a shower. Itachi returned right before dinner and it turned out he and Sasori were experimenting on how to thwart the eyes of an Uchiha while using puppets. It was Sasori's loss since the sharingan quickly caught on to his finger movement patterns.

"'Yet', you say. I know, this was a given...but when you guys are twenty five, you'll really have to get married, huh?" Itachi said thoughtfully. Naruto stopped arranging the food on his plate. That was right. He'd marry Sasuke.

"Worry about yourself first! You got three more years to go! Come to think of it, shouldn't you be engaged to someone? You are the first prince after all." Naruto said.

Silence.

"I'm going to ask Sasuke." Naruto said, dead set on it.

Once they had gone back to their room, Naruto took out Sasuke's necklace and pocketed it. He would look for a chance to return it. Although he was dying to solve the mystery behind the necklace, he knew he shouldn't keep it if it was important to Sasuke. There was a knock on the door and Sai opened it. It was Karin.

"Hi, Nagato and I were wondering if we could borrow Naruto tonight. It's been years and I think it would be really reassuring if the three of us could be together tonight." Karin said with a smile.

Naruto's eyes widened. He could be with them again. Itachi turned to look at him and then grinned.

"Yeah, it's fine. I think he needs you guys." Itachi said. Naruto got up and went to the door in a sort of daze.

"Come on, Naruto." Karin took Naruto's hand and led him to the room for Amegakure members. She opened the door and walked in. Konan was drying her hair and Yahiko was seated on a bed, drying Nagato's hair for him. Naruto watched in awe. That was right, Yahiko was Nagato's lover. It looked so natural.

"Oh! Naruto!" Nagato smiled. Naruto grinned right back. Konan and Yahiko greeted him enthusiastically as well. "Sit down," Nagato made space for Naruto on the bed and Naruto sat down followed by Karin.

"I'm surprised he doesn't have red hair." Yahiko commented, patting Naruto's head.

"Ah, that's because his father was a Namikaze." Nagato explained.

"So, about what happened earlier, what's going on between you and Sasuke?" Karin asked.

Naruto sighed and hung his head.

"He could care less about me...in fact, I think he hates me..." Naruto mumbled. There was a moment of silence.

"And you're in love with him..." Nagato finished. Naruto nodded.

"Oh Naruto," Karin hugged Naruto. "Come, let me eat you."

"No! Get away from me!" Naruto laughed.

"Why? Your chakra probably tastes amazing!" Karin said.

"Don't you dare!" Naruto shrieked while laughing as he tried to get away from her fingers that knew all his secret ticklish spots. The chase continued for a couple of minutes, involving throwing a pillow in Yahiko's face, Konan using her paper technique on Nagato and Naruto accidentally tripping Konan. Nagato finally grabbed Naruto and put him down on his bed.

"Now, now, let's eat Naruto only after he's had kids with Sasuke kun." Nagato said. Naruto stared speechlessly at Nagato. He was scarlet and frozen at what that sentence merely insinuated.

"You-you've been around Ero Sennin too long!" Naruto yelled.

"Alright, let's calm down." Nagato said, ignoring Naruto's accusing glare. "Karin, sit here." Nagato said. Karin sat down next to Nagato. "Now we need to do some serious talk...Naruto...what happened in the Uzumaki massacre? We only heard rumours of the massacre and from what it seemed, it would've been a bad idea to make ourselves known as Uzumakis, so we didn't contact anyone." Nagato said. Naruto knew he would be asked this eventually.

"You made the right choice. Even Konoha kept my existence a secret." Naruto bowed his head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember the important details of the massacre..." Naruto said.

"You don't remember?" Karin asked.

"An Uchiha used an Uzumaki jutsu on me to seal my memories of the incident." Naruto said.

"An Uchiha?" Nagato asked with wide eyes. Naruto nodded.

"I've been trying to master the memory sealing jutsu but it's of no use..." Naruto said guiltily.

"Well, of course...you can't use the jutsu on yourself. It requires you to focus chakra. It can only be used on a different person. When a memory is sealed and unsealed, it causes a whole world of pain. It's because suddenly forgetting things or suddenly remembering things is like going through trauma." Nagato explained. Naruto looked up at Nagato and almost screamed when he saw the little Sasuke sitting next to Nagato. It hit Naruto. Naruto had undone a seal on Sasuke's memory. Whatever Sasuke had remembered was causing him to treat Naruto the way he was treating him now. And the little Sasuke was waiting for Naruto to meet Nagato all along. "Naruto...I know it will be painful for you to relive your memories of the massacre, but may I undo the seal on your memories?" Nagato asked.

There was a huge part of Naruto that was scared to see his memories. Naruto was scared of finding out Sasuke's involvement in the death of his family. Naruto looked up at Nagato, wanting to refuse.

"Do it," the little Sasuke said firmly. And that was all it took for Naruto to make his decision.

"You may...I don't want to be in the dark any longer." Naruto said, fire in his eyes.

"Very well. Konan, please layer the walls with paper so that Naruto's screams don't reach the ears of anyone else. Karin please try to help him with his pain. And Yahiko, can you make sure Naruto doesn't hurt himself when he's convulsing?" Nagato asked. All of them nodded and finished preparations. "I'm starting." Nagato did the signs. "Release!"

Naruto's eyes rolled back and he slumped forward, a raw scream leaving his mouth, images passing before his eyes.

_"Hello there, little boy." The male with red eyes and a Shijima no Kuni hitaite bent down, smiling at Naruto. Naruto blinked up at the man. It wasn't everyday he met an outsider. In fact, he had never met an outsider before._

_"Hello Ojisan, are you lost?" The five year old Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. By all rights, no outsider should have even been able to make it this far into the Uzumaki compound. This side was where the head house and school was._

_"No, I came to find you. I want to ask you a very important question." The man continued to smile._

_"What question?" Naruto stepped a little closer, his curiosity getting the better of him. He knew he should report this man to his mother, but he didn't seem like a bad person._

_"Do you want to meet the people outside the compound?" he asked. Naruto' s eyes sparkled. He had always wanted to step outside but his mother told him that he just wasn't ready for it._

_"I do! I do!" Naruto said excitedly._

_"Then I will show you a secret way out. Because it's a secret, you musn't tell anyone."_

_"I won't!"_

_"Alright, this way. You'll meet a boy just your age. I'm sure you'll have fun."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They almost kissed! Woohoo! So sorry to disappoint you guys. Don't hate on Karin for interrupting them. And yay! Naruto will now get his memories back! Who wants to find out who Itachi is engaged to?


	11. Chapter 11

_"Woah! A person!" Naruto cried out on seeing the little black haired boy. "And he has black hair! So cool!" Naruto said excitedly. The boy looked at him with a weird look on his face. Naruto knew that look. Karin neechan always gave him that look when he would get too happy. "What are you looking at me like that for?" Naruto demanded to know._

_"Are you retarded? Have you never met someone with black hair?" the boy asked._

_"Of course not! I'm an Uzumaki!" Naruto proudly pointed at himself. He knew the Uzumaki clan was one of the great three clans. If it wasn't for the fact that Uzumaki jutsus were not really meant for combat, Naruto was sure the Uzumaki clan would be the strongest._

_"Heh...an Uzumaki, huh?" The boy turned back to whatever he was doing, sounding uninterested._

_"What's with that reaction?" Naruto snapped. "I'll let you know that the Uzumaki clan is one of the great three power clans. Each individual contains great power. Because Uzumakis contain this power, their children must learn how to protect themselves before they are let out otherwise they will be instantly targeted-" Naruto explained, clearly trying to prove his reason for never seeing a boy with black hair. A sharp stone came straight at his face. Naruto instantly dodged, kicking it back at the black haired boy who caught it._

_"Hm, not bad..." The boy stood up. "Yeah, I know about the Uzumakis. I've met a couple. They're pretty cool. The two other power clans are the Senju and the Uchiha. I'm Uchiha Sasuke, the third Uchiha Prince." The boy said. "You wouldn't really be able to do much to me, just like I wouldn't be able to do much to you. The three power clans balance each other out too well." Sasuke said._

_"Woah! You're the third Prince? Wait, wait. Let me introduce myself. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the first Uzumaki Prince!" Naruto said excitedly._

_"Is that so?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "How old are you?"_

_"Five years old, I'll be taking the academy entrance exam next month." Naruto said. "You?"_

_"I'm five years old as well. I'll be taking the entrance exam with you." Sasuke said._

_"Cool! I'll let you know, I won't lose to you-" Naruto started. Sasuke kicked the stone he used earlier at Naruto. Naruto dodged again, but before he could send it back another one came flying at him. Naruto dodged again and a clone came up behind him. Naruto threw a punch before being rolling out of the way. He turned towards the real one and was instantly knocked over, pinned to the ground._

_"Hm, you won't lose to me, huh?" Sasuke asked._

_"You didn't let me finish! I was going to say chakra wise! Uzumakis have the strongest chakra forces than any other clan!" Naruto snarled. "Uzumakis aren't designed to fight!" Naruto snapped._

_"Keep saying that and you'll never reach me. Although, you might have beaten any other clan member with the way you fought right now, it was useless against an Uchiha and it would be useless against a Senju." Sasuke got up. "I have to head home. I'm not supposed to be here. Mom says it's too close to the Uzumaki compound and the Forest of Beasts..." Sasuke said._

_"I have to go home too!" Naruto got up, dusting himself off. "I'm not supposed to leave the compound..." Naruto said. Naruto's eyes widened. "Speaking of the Forest of Beasts!" Naruto cried out. "Sasuke, run!" Naruto cried. Sasuke turned to see something that looked like a bear of sorts with horns._

_"What is that?" Sasuke cried out, jumping onto a tree with Naruto as the beast charged into the spot where the two of them had been._

_"It must be one of the beasts from the forest. This must be the weak spot in the Uzumaki barriers if it's managed to get in so far! Sasuke, do you have a piece of jewellery or something of the sort?" Naruto asked._

_"No I don't. Why are you even asking?" Sasuke snapped. "It's coming!" Sasuke yelled. Naruto noticed a kunai glint in Sasuke's trouser belt._

_"This will have to do." Naruto said, grabbing it. Sasuke and he jumped from the tree and to the ground. "Sasuke, can you distract it?" Naruto asked. Sasuke turned to look at him with the 'are you crazy?' look on his face. "Please trust me!" Naruto said._

_"Fine!" Sasuke said, creating three clones. Sasuke ran towards the animal. Naruto knelt there, his eyes closed. If he remembered clearly, the animal was a beast with extremely sharp horns and a tough body. Naruto remembered it's name and quickly started to put a seal on the kunai. He turned to look at the animal. It's weak spot was its eyes. One of Sasuke's clones vanished. Naruto aimed with precision taught to him by his dad._

_"Sasuke move!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke leaped out of the way and Naruto threw the kunai. It hit the beast's eye. The beast roared, then glowed and vanished. The kunai clattered to the ground. It had become white. It was longer and its handle looked different._

_"Huh? Is that my kunai? What happened to it? And where did that thing go?" Sasuke moved forward._

_"Don't touch it!" Naruto snapped. Sasuke froze. Naruto hurried towards the kunai and picked it up carefully. "I sealed the beast into the kunai, it seems that changed the kunai as well. Sealing is the Uzumaki clan's forte. Let's test this out." Naruto slashed it against a large rock. It passed through smoothly with no resistance._

_"Ah! My kunai!" Sasuke cried out. Naruto examined the kunai. Not a single scratch._

_"Here, you can keep it. Be really careful when you use it though. It cuts through a lot, probably you should get a metal case for it, or something like that." Naruto said with a bright smile._

_"You really are an Uzumaki..." Sasuke said in awe. "But you don't have red hair..." Sasuke frowned._

_"My dad is the Hokage." Naruto explained with a smile._

_"The Hokage...my dad is the police force's leader!" Sasuke said firmly._

_"That means our dad's must be good friends!" Naruto beamed. "Oh, but if you meet my dad, don't tell him that you saw me. I'm not supposed to be out here." Naruto said sheepishly._

_"I'm not supposed to be here either." Sasuke laughed. "I should go back..."_

_"I need to go back too..."_

_Silence._

_"Hey Sasuke, can I see you tomorrow as well?" Naruto asked._

_"I was about to ask you that as well! How about the same time tomorrow?" Sasuke asked._

_"Sure! I'm going to go then! See you, Sasuke!" Naruto said, waving as he ran off. Sasuke waved as well._

_-o-_

_"Hey...are you really all that cool as you say you are?" Sasuke asked on one of their escapades. The two of them were practicing throwing their shurikens. Naruto missed and turned to Sasuke, an outrageous look on his face. "Cause, all the Uzumakis I've met have come to the Uchiha compound for various reasons. Yesterday, one of them sealed away Shisui niisan's disease. When I talked to him he said it was one of the simple jutsus." Sasuke said._

_"Hey, I haven't had an actual opportunity to show you my awesomeness!" Naruto snapped. "I've got nothing interesting to seal here! And who is Shisui niisan? You've never mentioned him before." Naruto huffed._

_"Well obviously. He's not one of my brothers. He's just another clan member. I have only two brothers. My eldest brother is Uchiha Kyodo, my other older brother is Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke explained. "Do you have any siblings? The way you talk often makes me wonder how many members there are in your family." Sasuke said._

_"I'm an only child." Naruto answered without a thought. "But I do have two cousins." Naruto added._

_"Hm...you seemed like a youngest sibling." Sasuke said._

_"Well, I always used to be with my cousins and everyone I play with are older than me." Naruto said._

_"'Used to be with my cousins'?" Sasuke asked._

_"My cousins left Konoha a couple of months ago! But they said that they'll visit." Naruto said. "Anyway, I'll sneak you into the Uzumaki compound tomorrow! I'll show you what I'm really made up of!" Naruto said firmly._

_"Sneak me in...no way. First of all, I'm not even supposed to know you. Then, me sneaking into the Uzumaki compound is out of the question. Uchihas have to be put under surveillance when entering the compound because we can nullify Uzumaki jutsus. Not only will you get into trouble, but I'll be murdered, even if I don't have my sharingan yet. Third, how are you supposed to sneak me into the number one most secretive clan?" Sasuke snapped._

_"It's OK. The secret path isn't known by anyone else. I'll just take you to my house. I know all the secret passageways in the walls and more. The Uzumakis sensors are not in Konoha right now and our strongest sensor, Karin neechan left Konoha." Naruto beamed. "We'll be fine. I'll protect you, Sasuke!" Naruto rocked back and forth on his heels._

_"That doesn't give me any confidence..." Sasuke muttered. "Fine, but the moment I say I'm out, I'm out."_

_"OK!"_

_-o-_

_"I'm surprised a pathway like this hasn't been already found by your clansmen..." Sasuke muttered as they crawled through the small canopy of bushes._

_"That's because this part of the barrier uses my chakra. Each Uzumaki uses ten percent of their chakra to create the barrier around the compound." Naruto explained. "All I have to do is momentarily draw away my chakra. If it's noticed, my mother will probably write it off as me being inconsistent or careless without releasing I'm using that handful of seconds to slip out." Naruto grinned._

_"That sounds really mean..." Sasuke deadpanned. "Your mother trusts you, you know."_

_"I know, I won't get hurt...I know I won't." Naruto said confidently. "Here we are. This window leads to the main hall in the house. Now, let me just check if anyone else is around." Naruto peered through the window. Once confirming that all was clear, Naruto opened the window and climbed in, helping Sasuke in after him. "Now, we go to my room to pick up my brushes and then we'll go to the training room." Naruto led Sasuke to his room. It was a spacious and comfy room. There were scrolls scattered everywhere, what looked like test papers and red markings. Stuffed animals of the nine Bijuus lay everywhere. The shelves were packed with practically anything a five year old ninja could read. "I have my brushes, let's go." The two of them crept through the hallways and Naruto opened the door to the training room. Sasuke came up behind him closing the door. Naruto turned towards the shelves of scrolls and practice subjects. "Hey, what are you doing in here? You're not allowed to be in here!" Naruto snapped at the man whose back was to them. The man turned to them. Naruto's eyes widened. "Ojisan!"_

_"Well done, both of you. Both of you followed my instructions so well. Now for the finale." The man grinned at them._

_"Naruto! Look away! He has the sharingan!" Sasuke yelled. Naruto reacted too late. He felt like his entire being was sucked into the man's eyes._

_-o-_

_It felt like Naruto was waking up from a long sleep. When his eyes cleared and he looked up, he saw his hand on his mother's abdomen, her eyes were wide in utter horror. Sasuke was barely conscious on the ground next to him._

_"N-naruto..." his mother stammered._

_"Mom?" Naruto asked in confusion. He felt a shadow fall over them. He looked up feeling very sick. He could briefly remember Sasuke and him opening the forbidden scroll and doing something. And as the Kyuubi's clawed foreleg came down, Naruto realized under the influence of genjutsu, he and Sasuke had undone the Kyuubi seal._

_"Naruto!" Kushina shrieked, grabbing him and yanking him out of them way before falling over and coughing up blood._

_"Mom? Mom? What's wrong?" Naruto asked desperately. But he knew the answer. His mother was dying without the Kyuubi inside of her. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. Sasuke was clinging to a broken wall, his forehead bleeding and his eyes wide in fear._

_"Kushina?" Naruto heard his dad yell. Naruto pulled himself from his mother's arms. If his dad was coming, his mom would be safe. He had to protect Sasuke and get him out of the compound as fast as possible. Naruto ran towards Sasuke. The Kyuubi was focusing on destroying buildings._

_"Sasuke! Give me your hand!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke grabbed his hand. Out. Naruto just had to take Sasuke out. His father had run to his mother. Naruto ran, dragging Sasuke with him._

_"Naruto? Where's Naruto?" Kushina cried out. Naruto ran with Sasuke right past them. "Naruto!" Kushina screamed. Naruto continued to run. The ground shook and split. Naruto and Sasuke were sent flying. Naruto felt blood on his face. He didn't know what was happening, how long he'd been lying there, but Sasuke was shaking him. Naruto pulled himself up. As the two of them stood up, and stepped away from the pile of rubble, they stared in utter horror. The Kyuubi was tearing away at everything. There was a fire on the west side of the compound. There was blood everywhere. Sasuke's hand tightened around his. The Kyuubi fixed his eyes on them._

_"Naruto! Run! Run that way! I'll distract the Kyuubi!" Naruto turned and saw Yomo niichan, the older chunnin who always played with him, screaming at him. Naruto couldn't move. He wanted to move. He wanted to run, but he was trembling so much. Yomo niichan shot out his chakra chains to hold the Kyuubi back, away from Naruto and Sasuke. And then the other Uchiha from Shijima no Kuni stepped up behind Yomo niichan and stabbed him straight through the chest._

_"Yomo niichan!" Naruto shrieked. Naruto heard Sasuke crying next to him. Naruto turned. Sasuke had activated his sharingan._

_"Naruto!" Kushina grabbed him, pulled him away from Sasuke and into her arms. She was bleeding. "Get away from him, Naruto! Don't go near him!" Kushina screamed. Naruto was crying, practically sobbing. His mom was hurt. Everyone was dying. He couldn't let anyone else die._

" _But Sasuke could get hurt! Mom, we can't leave Sasuke! Let's all run away!" Naruto said. "Where's Dad? Dad can take down the Kyuubi, right?" Naruto asked. Kushina's eyes were wide as she looked at Sasuke who was bent over and throwing up._

_"S-sasuke...no..." she whispered. "Mikoto's son? No! Naruto why did you bring him here?" Kushina screamed frantically. Naruto cried even more, clutching her shirt._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry mom!" Naruto cried. Kushina reached over, grabbing Sasuke's arm. Carrying Naruto with one arm and half dragging, half carrying Sasuke with the other, she ran, trying to get to the open space in the middle of the compound. The ground shook again and Kushina fell over, spitting out more blood, clutching her side. "Mom! Mom!" Naruto cried out. "Mom!" Sasuke was bent over, on his hands and knees, vomiting and crying, his sharingan practically glowing._

_"It's the sharingan! Someone get him away from the Kyuubi!" Naruto heard his dad yell. He looked up with hope. The Uchiha from Shijima Kuni was walking towards them with next to the rampaging Kyuubi. Suddenly screams were heard from several of the Uzumakis. Naruto looked around. Several clones of the man were there, stabbing the Uzumakis. "Shadow clones?" Minato cried out. Right before Naruto's eyes he saw the mighty Uzumaki clan go down. The clan that didn't design their jutsus for fighting._

_"Hokage sama!" Naruto turned. A male in a jounin vest was behind the Kyuubi. "I'll take care of the intruder! Please see to the Kyuubi!"_

_"Make sure you dissolve the contract!" Minato shouted, running towards the Kyuubi._

_"Niisan!" Sasuke started up._

_"Sasuke kun, stay here!" Kushina grabbed him with what little strength she had and pulled him towards. Naruto held onto his mother, crying into her hair._

_"I have to eliminate the two responsible for this." A sinister voice said from behind Kushina. Naruto's eyes widened as a kunai sweeped down at him. Kushina threw herself on top of Naruto. Naruto saw the utter determination and sacrificial love in her eyes._

_"MOM!" Naruto screamed._

_"KUSHINA!" Minato yelled._

_The shadow clone vanished in a cloud of white smoke._

_"Take that, asshole." Taihei grinned, his mouth drooling blood. He was clutching his stomach. Naruto was screaming and crying and shaking Kushina._

_"Naruto...Naruto...I love you, Naruto..." Kushina was whispering as she cried._

_"Mom!" Naruto buried his face in her blood soaked shirt. "Mom!" Sasuke was trying to keep her awake as well. Naruto was suddenly yanked to his feet by Taihei and held in place. Naruto stared at his father, feeling his world fall apart as his father finished the signs to the Death Reaper seal and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The Kyuubi which had been held in place by Taihei's chakra chains was drawn into Naruto._

_"I love you, Naruto." Minato grinned, patting his head. "Make me proud." Naruto stood frozen, tears streaming down his face as his father fell face forward at Kushina's side._

_"NO!" Naruto screamed. "No! No! No! Don't leave me! No!" Naruto fell to his knees and clutched his parents' hands, crying. "No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please come back! I'll never leave the compound again! I'm sorry!" Naruto shrieked. Taihei stroked his hair, before falling over as well. "God!" Naruto shrieked. "Mom! Dad! Please!"_

_"Niisan! Niisan! What are you doing? Let go! Stop! It hurts!" Naruto heard Sasuke's voice. Naruto spun around. All he saw was a hand reaching for him and a sharingan he had never seen before. Naruto was thrown down next to Sasuke. Naruto quickly tried to scramble away. Looking for the dangerous man from Shijima no Kuni. Naruto couldn't see him. He was grabbed and held in place._

_"What have you done, Sasuke? Don't you realize what you've done? Your mistake will haunt you for the rest of your life! This is exactly what I was trying to protect you from!" Naruto tried to turn and look at the person with the pained and desperate voice, but a hand grabbed his head, obscuring his vision. All he saw was that type of sharingan he had never seen before. "You will forget."_

_Naruto fell backwards, screaming in pain, feeling like his very being was being ripped apart. He could tell it was the Uzumaki memory sealing jutsu. He had seen it performed once. But both he and Sasuke understood what it implicated, it meant the death of the user since he wasn't an Uzumaki. As he turned to look at Sasuke, screaming and crying he was stunned to see Sasuke lying there in a pool of blood, covered in blood and staring at him wordlessly blood running from his eyes with a new kind of sharingan._

No, god, no, _Naruto could only think. Naruto tried to crawl away but he stopped when he realized he was surrounded by the pieces of his family, his clan. Screaming and crying in pain, Naruto threw up repeatedly on the ground as his head split with the pain._

_"I will not let either of you live a life of guilt and darkness. I will save you even if it's the last thing I do." Uchiha Kyodo said. Naruto only screamed. And then something clicked in him. His world instantly turned dark._

_When Naruto woke up, he was lying in the mud outside the Uzumaki complex, covered in blood._

_"Is he alive? He's alive! Take him to the hospital! It's Hokage sama's son!"_

-o-

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he saw Karin, Nagato, Konan and Yahiko looking at him worriedly. Naruto threw up, sobbing and crying, hand against his chest as he tried to breathe properly. He bent over, crying and screaming. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Karin and Nagato were embracing and stroking his hair and patting his back comfortingly.

''I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." Naruto cried. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Mom. Dad. I'm sorry. Yomo niichan, Taihei. I'm sorry." Naruto was blubbering. Karin was crying and holding onto him, also apologizing. But she was apologizing for making Naruto go through that again. Naruto was filled with guilt. It was his fault. He had started the Uzumaki massacre. It was all his fault. Naruto's nails were digging into his hands. He wanted to disappear. He didn't deserve the love Karin and Nagato were giving him. Once they had calmed Naruto down, Naruto told them everything, about how the Shijima no Kuni Uchiha manipulated both him and Sasuke, how he snuck in and out, undoing the seal under genjutsu and Uchiha Kyodo showing up to defeat the Shijima no Kuni Uchiha and how he and Taihei saved the day. Naruto fell forwards, on his hands and knees. "I'm sorry...It was all my fault. Because of my stupidity, the Uzumaki clan fell, everyone important to us died. I'm sorry." Naruto cried. "I even killed Sasuke's brother." Naruto cried. And then he understood. "That's why he hates me. I killed his brother. I killed everyone. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm-"

Karin slapped him.

"Come to your senses, Naruto. No one is blaming you. No one ever has. If Sasuke is blaming you, I'll stop the engagement myself. The Uzumaki clan protected you because they loved you. No one is blaming you. No one has. And no one ever will. We don't blame you. We love you and we are so glad that at least you survived. Do you understand?" Karin snapped.

Naruto stared at her with tear filled eyes.

"That man took advantage of your adventurous nature. He is to blame. He twisted everything and used you because you were you." Nagato said darkly. "If I ever get the chance to meet him, I'll kill him a hundred times over." Nagato snarled. The room instantly felt cold and instinctively, Yahiko and Konan drew back.

"I-I don't understand..." Naruto whimpered.

"Naruto...did your mother ever blame you? Or your father?" Nagato asked. "Sneaking out of the compound. How many Uzumakis do you think have done that? Scores of them have. Such an obvious hole. You really think the older Uzumakis didn't know about the hole they used for their own runaways? Uzumakis are rebellious by nature even though we don't have many combat jutsus. A hole right next to the Forest of Beasts? No way. Uzumaki children sneak out and learn how to survive on their own. Your mother probably knew all along. She never asked how Sasuke got there, did she? She asked why you brought him. It wasn't your fault. Pure Uzumaki tradition was just taken advantage of when you were there. Nothing else." Nagato patted Naruto's head.

Naruto stared blankly, feeling tired and dazed.

"It may be hard for you to forgive yourself for that incident right away, but it'll come to you eventually. When I close my eyes, I still see my mother dying from overworking herself. And every time I think. 'Why didn't I offer myself up sooner? If I had, mom wouldn't have had to die.'" Karin whispered, taking Naruto's hand.

"We're here to protect you." Nagato said. "Let's rest for today. All the other serious things can wait. Yahiko, join Karin's bed to mine. Naruto, you'll sleep in between me and Karin. We'll hold you. So rest assured, we will not leave you." Nagato said, smiling. Naruto felt tears rolls down his face. He turned and saw the little Sasuke.

_I did what you asked of me._

The little Sasuke smiled brightly before melting into a little Naruto.

"Thank you. Thank you for accepting me into your life again." The little five year old version of him beamed before fading away.

"Goodbye..." Naruto whispered, a tear falling onto the Uchiha clan necklace that probably fell out of his pocket while he was writhing. The tear landed on the letters on the back.

K.I.S.

_Kyodo. Itachi. Sasuke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus you guys know the story! Who Uchiha Kyodo is and what really happened. I didn't explain the entire massacre properly because it's Naruto's memories and everything is seen through his eyes. Sasuke activated his sharingan when he saw the Uzumaki massacre and activated his mangekyo when his older brother died. And although the little Naruto didn't know it, he developed a little puppy love crush on Sasuke, which in turn grew to actual love subconsciously as he grew up, not for the current Sasuke but for the little Sasuke he knew.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto stood outside his room door in the morning. Nagato stood next to him. Naruto had to enter the room and get ready for breakfast and the meeting that followed. But he was too scared to enter the room. He was scared of facing Sasuke and Itachi and knowing what he had done to them. It made perfect sense why Sasuke had treated Naruto the way he had after Naruto undid the seal on his memories. Naruto had to act normal. He had to act like his memories weren't unsealed. Naruto was so scared.

"Naruto?" Nagato asked.

"I'm fine...just give me a moment." Naruto whispered. He took a deep breath and then knocked before opening the door. "I'm back!" Naruto beamed. Nagato peered into the room from behind him. Itachi looked as fresh as ever, Sai looked like he had just woken up and Sasuke looked like he had been through hell and back, with dark circles under his eyes so dark that he looked like a racoon. Internally Naruto was beating himself up. What if Sasuke couldn't sleep because of what he had done all those years ago? It wasn't an incident that could possibly stay out of one's dreams.

"Oh welcome back," Itachi said.

"Good morning." Sai mumbled, practically crawling out of bed. Sasuke and Sai looked like they had seen the devil lord the night before and Itachi looked utterly fresh.

"Well then, I'll have to go and prepare everything for the meeting today." Nagato said with a smile. "I'll see you guys at the meeting." Nagato squeezed Naruto's hand and then walked off. Naruto shut the door behind him, trying not to look at Sasuke. The guilt he had was practically eating him inside out.

"Why do you look so dead?" Naruto asked Sai. Sai gave him that fake smile of his, his dark circles and eye bags looking even worse.

"Oh, because the room down the hall was unnaturally loud last night. I think someone might have died too. There were screams of rage and explosion, I also think I heard Sasori san laughing the entire night. I don't know if you've heard it, but in the middle of the night, his laugh is the most terrifying thing ever. Sasuke probably had it worse, I was on the end but he was by the door. You're lucky you were on the top floor." Sai continued to smile as he practically tottered to the bathroom.

"I had ear buds, so I didn't hear a thing." Itachi shrugged. Naruto blinked. He wondered if that were really true. Itachi was the type to always be aware of things even if he was asleep. That's why he was such an amazing ANBU captain. Or was it that Itachi trusted Nagato just that much? No way, Itachi was that sensitive even when in the middle of Konoha. Naruto shrugged, whatever happened, he doubted Itachi would tell him.

To Naruto's horror – as he got ready – he found himself wanting to look at Sasuke so much but stopping himself from doing so because he was drowning himself in guilt. Subconsciously, he was staying as far from Sasuke as possible without attracting attention. He didn't know how he would actually carry on through the rest of the day. It was worse than their cold war when they had been travelling to the meeting. Once they were ready they went to go and eat breakfast. The only group in the dining hall were the Sunagakure group.

"Good morning." They wished each other. Being the two shinobi villages that were the closest to each other friendship wise, they were all very comfortable around each other. Breakfast was rice, miso soup and egg rolls with warm milk. As they all sat down, Kankurou explained that the other groups had come over for breakfast, but that was before they had gotten ready. So they all had vanished to get ready.

"Ah, Naruto, the rinnegan user and the red headed girl, they're Uzumakis, aren't they?" Temari asked.

"Yes, they are. How did you know?"

"Well, the Uzumakis were well known. Since their red hair is their trademark – aside from their insane personalities and their strengths – Gaara and Sasori san have often been confused as Uzumakis. However, if you look closely, their red hair is so deep and rich and it borders on turning a dark pinkish-maroon of sorts. So we could tell." Kankurou said.

"It's good to know that you have some family after that incident." Gaara said with a smile. Naruto choked on his rice, feeling nauseous at the thought of the massacre. Naruto continued to choke and he reached his water which he unfortunately had placed a little too far. His hand hit Sasuke's which was wrapped around his cup. Both of them looked up at each other in surprise. Naruto would have dwelt on the look in Sasuke's eyes longer if he wasn't choking to death.

"Here," Sasuke handed him the cup. Naruto accepted it, drinking it and settling his throat and stomach. Wait a moment, how had he ended up sitting next to Sasuke? Naruto's fists clenched. The look in Sasuke's eyes when he had handed Naruto the cup wasn't hate, it was _concern_. What was going on? Concern? Naruto had never seen that look on Sasuke's face ever directed at him. Never. Naruto chewed on the inside of his cheek. Was he seeing things?

"Itachi san, did you get a chance to talk to the rinnegan user?" Sasori asked. Everyone turned to Itachi. Itachi looked up from his miso soup.

"Yes I did. Earlier in the morning I went out to check all my barriers and guards and checked if Sai's mice had anything to report. I ran into Nagato san and then told him about the issues Hokage sama asked me to convey to him. It appeared he already knew the gist of it all. I believe he will be addressing issue in the meeting." Itachi said.

"So, what is the rinnegan user like?" Temari asked, interested.

"Well...from what I've seen, he's a strong person, he's not susceptible to fearing the things we normal people are afraid of. But that also comes from his strength. And his strength comes from those he cares about because he knows that they will always stand by him. He's also a very protective person and he honestly wishes for peace. I also don't think it's a good idea to make him angry and test his limits. We know nothing of his strength as a shinobi." Naruto remembered when the night before, Nagato expressed his rage towards the Uchiha that had destroyed the Uzumaki clan.

"I don't think it's a good idea in general to make an Uzumaki angry." Sai shrugged. "They all have latent power that is dangerous to test."

"You've got that one right." Kankurou agreed. "Every Uzumaki has healing properties and much more. Their chakra reserves are huge and their position as one of the great three power clans shouldn't be underestimated. If every Uzumaki in the clan knew how to use their chakra they would have been a force to reckon with when they were attacked before they were forced to migrate to Konohagakure."

"Excuse me," the white eyed man entered the room. "I'm here to inform you that the meeting will start on the floor upstairs in fifteen minutes." He bowed and walked out.

"Thank you!" Temari called after him.

They quickly finished up their breakfast, cutting off the conversation and then all of them went up the stairs to the meeting hall. It was a large and spacious room with a huge round table. There were name cards for the seating arrangement. At what was assumed the head of the table was the names of the Amegakure group. On the right of the Amegakure group was the Sunagakure group, next was Naruto's group, then was Kumogakure's group, Kirigakure's group, Iwagakure's group and right on the left side of the Amegakure group and the right side of the Iwagakure group was a special seat reserved for Fuu. All of the groups were already there but few had actually taken their seats. Nagato and Yahiko were going over a couple of documents with the white eyed man and Karin and Konan were discussing the contents of a scroll with Fuu, who actually looked serious. Naruto examined their seats. He was seated right next to Gaara, next to him was Sai, then Sasuke and Itachi. Yahiko nodded at Nagato and then Nagato cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.

"Please, everyone, take your seats." Nagato said. Everyone quickly hurried to take their seats. Naruto watched in awe. He was actually in the presence of some of the most powerful people in the entire shinobi world and he was counted as one of them. And on top of that, his once sweet and cute cousins were standing at the head, looking impressive and dangerous. The Amegakure group were still standing in front of their chairs. "I welcome you to the first Kage Candidate meet hosted in Amegakure and it will continue to be held in Amegakure every year. I am your host, the next Amegakure leader, rinnegan bearer, jinchuuriki of the Sanbi, Isobu, head of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Nagato." A ripple of whispers ran through the room. The title was pretty remarkable and powerful. The fact that he was an Uzumaki, the clan assumed to have been wiped out was also a huge issue.

"I am Tenshi Konan, of Uzumaki Nagato's guard, the last known user of the paper jutsu." Konan said, dipping her head in a small bow.

"I am Yume Yahiko, of Uzumaki Nagato's guard." Yahiko also bowed.

"I am Uzumaki Karin, of Uzumaki Nagato's guard, the last Uzumaki able to use their healing properties. But that doesn't make me any less formidable." Karin grinned.

"Now, I ask that each of the candidates introduce themselves and their guards will also follow them." Nagato said and the Amegakure group took their seats and Karin gestured at Fuu to start. Fuu quickly shot to her feet, a large smile on her face.

"Yosh! I'm Fuu from Takigakure, the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi, Chomei! I'm going to become everyone's friend!" Fuu waved at all if them and Naruto thought he heard Sasuke scoff under his breath. Fuu sat down.

Silence.

"Deidara nii!" Kurotsuchi nudged Deidara.

"O-oh...that's right." Deidara stood up. "I am Deidara of Iwagakure, Candidate Tsuchikage. I'm the jinchuuriki of Son Goku, the Yonbi and I'm the only known user of a type of forbidden explosion style jutsu. Art is an explosion, un!" Deidara sat down after nodding firmly.

"Someone's excited..." Temari muttered.

"I am Kitsuchi, a part of Deidara's guard." The big burly man who was Kurotsuchi's father introduced himself.

"I am Kurotsuchi, a part of Deidara's guard." Kurotsuchi said lazily.

"I am Akatsuchi, a part of Deidara's guard." The other burly man on the group introduced himself. Everyone turned to look at the Kirigakure group and the male with half of his hair covering his face stood up.

"I am Utakata of Kirigakure. Saiken, the rokubi rests inside my body. I am the lone user of the bubble jutsu." He said before sitting down.

"As expressionless as always, un," Deidara muttered.

"I am Yuki Haku, a part of Utakata's guard. I am the lone survivor of the Yuki clan and the only person who can use the Ice Release Bloodline Limit." The pretty girl stood up and introduced herself. Naruto leaned forward in interest despite himself. Haku had to be the prettiest girl he had seen. Haku's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and then she slammed her fist down on the table. "Also, for everyone's kind information, I'm a boy!" All the males who had been on the edges of their seats, staring at Haku blinked in surprise.

"It gets you every time, un." Deidara shrugged. Naruto gaped at the pretty boy who sat himself down, looking very irritated. One of the white haired males stood up.

"Yo, I'm Hozuki Suigetsu, on Utakata's guard. I'm the second prince of the Hozuki clan and wielder of the Kubikiribocho." Suigetsu said. He sat down, looking bored. Naruto turned to Sai for clarification.

"You've heard of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, right?" Sai asked. Naruto nodded. "Well, the sword the late Momochi Zabuza held is the Kubikiribocho. There, you can see it behind his seat." Naruto craned his neck and indeed he saw the handle of the giant broadsword.

"I am Hozuki Mangetsu, a part of the guard of Utakata. I stand here with the status of first prince of the Hozuki clan and the wielder of the Kiba, also known as the Raito." Mangetsu nodded before taking his seat. Naruto turned to Sai again.

"His blades belonged to the late Ameyuri Ringo. The blades are twin lightning blades. Unless you can block lighting, stay away at all costs if you fight him, those swords are dangerous." Sai advised.

"I am Nii Yugito of Kumogakure, the Raikage Candidate. I am the jinchuuriki of Matatabi, the Niibi, also known as the living ghost." One of the blonds from Kumogakure introduced herself. Naruto stared in awe. He had heard stories.

"I am Omoi of Nii Yugito's guard." Omoi stood up and introduced himself. Naruto could practically tell that he was itching to rattle off on pessimistic and depressing thoughts but Karui yanked him down and introduced herself. Then the other blond stood up.

"I am Samui of Nii Yugito's guard." She introduced herself.

"Damn, her chest rivals Tsunade sama's." Temari cursed under her breath. Naruto had to keep himself from laughing. Naruto quickly got his feet though, realizing that it was his turn.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, Hokage candidate. I'm the jinchuuriki of Kurama, the Kyuubi! I'm the first prince of the Uzumaki clan." Naruto introduced himself and then sat down, feeling like a mess of nerves. Itachi stood up.

"I am Uchiha Itachi of Uzumaki Naruto's guard. I am the first prince of the Uchiha clan and a user of the Mangekyo Sharingan." Itachi took his seat and nodded at Sasuke.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke of Uzumaki Naruto's guard. I am the second Uchiha prince and a user of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke with wide eyes. Even Sai looked surprised – which for Sai was a big thing. Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan? If Naruto remembered correctly, the Eternal Mangekyo could only be awakened if the eyes of a mangekyo user was transplanted into the eyes of another mangekyo user. Where on earth had Sasuke gotten those eyes? Before Naruto could wonder anymore, Sai stood up.

"My name is Sai, of Uzumaki Naruto's guard." Sai said with that fake smile of his.

Gaara stood up after and made him introduction and the sand siblings followed after him. Sasori stood up with a serious face.

"I am Sasori of the Red Sands, of Gaara's guard. Personally, I feel art is an eternity." He grinned straight at Deidara. Deidara went scarlet and shrank away. Naruto turned to look at Sai questioningly again.

"As you know, Sasori san goes to Iwagakure frequently. I hear that Deidara's group also frequently visits small areas in Kaze no Kuni for a special kind of clay. The two of them always knock into each other. They both have different ideas when it comes to art which basically encompasses their entire lives. So every time they met, they argued and argued and argued until one day, Sasori san just grabbed Deidara and kissed him. I hear it was a very passionate make out and now, things are different, but the same still. They argue, but the sexual tension is annoying. They are not lovers, but they still can't seem to resist each other." Sai explained.

"Sounds like you and Ino..." Naruto commented.

"Correction, we do not argue all the time." Sai muttered under his breath.

"Well then," Nagato chuckled. "We have quite the powerful group. If someone were to attack us right now, they'd probably be eliminated instantly. Now, has anybody noticed that all the candidates are jinchuurikis?" Nagato asked getting up. Naruto blinked. Now that he mentioned it, Naruto had no idea Utakata or Deidara were jinchuurikis. He had known Yugito was one, but until that point, he didn't know the blond was Yugito.

 _Seriously? I noticed this a long time ago._ Kurama rumbled from inside of him.

 _And you didn't care to tell me. Typical._ Naruto snarkily said back.

 _You were too busy wailing over your clan members and regained memories._ Kurama explained.

Naruto sighed. He knew that was Kurama's unspoken apology for having destroyed his clan under the influence of the Uchiha from Shijima no Kuni. If anything, he had forgiven Kurama a long time ago.

"Two years ago, every country with a jichuuriki was contacted and the 'Perfect Jinchuuriki' project started. The project was meant to make every jinchuuriki become friends with their Bijuu. The project was not only supposed to make countries stronger but also to make sure we wouldn't face the deaths of countless shinobi. It was also an eye opener on how truly wonderful Bijuu are. This example started from Bee of Kumogakure and Yugito san also followed to carry out that example. This was of course one of the best projects ever proposed in the last decade. I believe Gaara san and Naruto went together as the first pair because of the ties Konohagakure had to Kumogakure. Next, I was in a pair with Fuu from Takigakure." Nagato gestured to the green haired girl. She waved excitedly. "I believe next were Deidara san and Utakata san." Nagato explained. "However, Han, the jinchuuriki of Kokuo the five tails has been missing for over six years. I will come to that later. Each of you who have trained together, probably have seen each other's darkest parts and know each other very well. That is why I have placed pairs in rooms near each other, because you will tend to trust the other's team more than anyone else here. Now, everyone here knows how jinchuuriki are treated and yet all of you aim to be a Kage or – in Fuu's case – a leader of your village. Of course, there might be an outcry because of the jinchuuriki Kage. However, in this meeting, we will also discuss how to deal with that. Now that we have addressed that, I will move to a very urgent topic. The Bijuu hunters and the sightings of the Uchihas from Shijima no Kuni." Everyone looked a little startled. Naruto blinked, they had been sighted elsewhere? "The Uchihas from Shijima no Kuni have been silent over the past few decades, but about a decade ago, they stepped up and showed their faces to the world. It might surprise you that this is a common problem, but believe me, this has happened in more places than just your country." Nagato looked serious. "However, I will not be allowed to plainly reveal the information of other countries. Therefore I will have to ask each candidate to relate his or her experience personally and please try not to omit any important details." Nagato said softly, looking at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened. No, no, he couldn't reveal the fact that he already knew everything. It would kill him. "I will ask the first incident to be explained, if you will, Naruto?" Nagato wasn't pressurizing him, but Naruto was practically shaking in fear. He clenched his fists, trying to still his trembling fingers, his eyes wide with terror. He slowly started to lift off his seat and just for a second his eyes turned to Sasuke, Sasuke's eyes met his. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and Sasuke had pushed him back into his seat before he could even move.

"Um, if it would be OK, I would like to explain those events. Uzumaki Naruto suffers from certain memory losses of the incident and won't be able to explain things properly." Sasuke said, standing up. Naruto stared with wide eyes. Wait...what? Was Sasuke owning up to the fact that he remembered everything? Naruto didn't want to put him through that. He desperately caught Sasuke's eyes and Sasuke sent him a smirk. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. Nagato and Karin were watching Sasuke in interest.

"If you will Sasuke kun." Nagato motioned for Sasuke to start.

"An Uchiha from Shijima no Kuni started an elaborate one month plan using two children under genjutsu to undo the Kyuubi seal on the then jinchuuriki the first Princess, Uzumaki Kushina. He used the Kyuubi under his control and several shadow clones to wipe out the Uzumaki clan. With the help of one of the strongest Uchihas, the Yondaime Hokage defeated the intruder from Shijima no Kuni and sealed the Kyuubi into Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke finished. "It is unsure as to whether they were trying to eliminate the Uzumaki clan, take control of the Kyuubi or both." Sasuke explained. "Also, there was a recent attack with the rinnegan's shape shifting technique. Their aim seemed to be Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke finished. Naruto turned to look at Sai.

"Sorry, we traded information last night. It's better if we all know what's going on, right?" Sai asked. Naruto didn't know what to say. Would it have been better if he had never had that memory sealing scroll restored? If he hadn't, he wouldn't be facing Sasuke and Itachi as a murderer.

"Thank you, Sasuke kun. Now we will move on to the second incident, the kidnapping of Uzumaki Karin." Nagato said, nodding at Karin. Naruto's eyes widened. He would finally found out about what happened to his cousins. Karin stood up, looking stone faced.

"When I was seven years old, approximately one year after the Uzumaki massacre, my mom worked herself to death. My dad had died a long time ago and my dad died in the war that caused the death of my mother as well. I had no way to contact anyone. I took up my mother's job of saving the villagers from their deaths. But one day, on my way back home from the hospital, I was kidnapped by Uchihas. I had no idea how to use my proper defensive and offensive Uzumaki abilities then. I heard bits and pieces of their conversations. What I understood from it was that they wanted to use me as a jinchuuriki. With my healing abilities and some of my strongest Uzumaki abilities, I would have made a jinchuuriki almost as strong as Uzumaki Mito. I noticed we entered Amegakure but we made a small detour from their proper destination. I only heard the phrase 'the rinnegan user is being targeted by Danzou'. I remembered Danzou as one of the elders from Konoha. I was desperate. If I could meet in contact with Danzou he could take me back to Konoha, I knew my mom had a lot of friends. But when we arrived at the scene, the attack on Nagato had started. I recognized Nagato the moment I saw him. But I also saw his face when Yahiko went down. I understood the emotions in his eyes. It was the feeling of losing someone who meant the world to them." Konan looked bitter and Naruto looked down at his hands. "I saw my mom's dead face in my eyes again and I finally released my chakra chains. I escaped the Uchihas and ran forward, desperate to save Yahiko any way possible. Both Konan and Yahiko were injured. But Yahiko's was more life threatening. I healed him and then healed Konan and then the three of us managed to save Nagato from going utterly berserk. He had already managed to destroy most of Danzou's root. Hanzo arrived then with back up for Nagato, Yahiko and Konan and we were saved. I later discovered, in a war, Nagato's parents were killed a year before around the same time as the Uzumaki massacre. Yahiko and Konan had saved him and were his new family and they readily accepted me into their family. However, the Uchihas who had kidnapped me had vanished into thin air." Karin sat down. The mood was morbid. Everyone wore grim expressions. Naruto vowed to go and hug Karin and Nagato and try to express how happy he was to see them still alive.

"The third incident happened in Kunogakure, Yugito san, please tell us what happened." Nagato asked Yugito. Yugito stood up.

"Seven years ago, while I was on a mission, we came across a village devoid of life. Every single person was killed, including the old and children. It made me furious. My team quickly investigated and found an underground passage way which led to a huge shrine. The shrine had all kind of scrolls written in languages we still haven't deciphered. There were all kinds of ritual masks, wooden statues and patterns that looked like the sharingan painted all over the walls. After more investigation, we found an Uchiha wearing a Shijima no Kuni hitaite. He had been wounded badly and was probably left behind to die by the destroyers of the village. After threatening him with more pain, he told us the shrine was an alcove of treasures entrusted to the village by the Shodai Raikage and Shodai Hokage. The darkest information about all the three power clans was stored there. Secrets so dark and sinister, the clans were utterly banned from using anything and it was entrusted to Kaminari no Kuni, where not a single of the three power clans lived. Although we have salvaged all we have could, it is believed the truly important information was stolen already." Yugito said. Naruto's jaw was ready to drop. The legacy of his clan continued. They were fearsome even in extinction. Karin was the only one of the last Uzumakis who could actually continue the Uzumaki bloodline. The bloodline ended with Nagato and Naruto since they were not strong enough to pass on the bloodline.

Nagato thanked her and asked the others to explain their experiences. It ranged from miniature attacks to simple genjutsus and people vanishing when followed. Nothing was very big. It was kind of like listening to a ghost story. Nagato then stood up.

"There is absolutely no doubt that they are after the jinchuuriki. In fact, one of the jinchuurikis has already been taken. We believe Han was defeated and taken already. It made sound threatening, but it is certain that they might come after you next. You never know. Powerful people are targets, just as Karin was targeted to be a jinchuuriki. Needless to say, all of you are in the safest place right now. No person would be daring enough to take on seven perfect jinchuuriki and their skilled guard." Nagato closed his eyes for a moment."We don't know why they want jinchuuriki, but I have a bad feeling that it might be ten times worse than any of us can imagine right now." Naruto stared. That wouldn't be just nightmare; it would be hell on earth.

Yahiko started a brief discussion about how this could affect their chances of becoming Kage and telling them to feel free to have duels in the training grounds. They shouldn't slack off. It would be better if everyone got used to fighting side by side to understand how to face threats.

"Alright, now before lunch, any questions? It can be about anything." Nagato said. Hands went up instantly. "Yes, Suigetsu san?" Nagato asked politely.

"How are you and Karin san related to Uzumaki Naruto?" Suigetsu asked.

"That's a great question!" Karin piped up. "Our mothers were all sisters, but since the older two princesses left the clan, the youngest sister, Uzumaki Kushina – that is Naruto's mother – became clan head!" Karin explained.

"Any other questions?"

Naruto wanted to ask Yugito if he could access those Uzumaki scrolls but he decided to save that for a less public conversation. Aimless questions were asked and then they went down for lunch. Naruto had just grabbed his tray and was heading to the food in line when he realized he was standing right behind Deidara. Sai – who was behind Naruto and in between him and Sasuke – was suddenly called by Temari. That left him and Sasuke dab smack in between Deidara and Sasori. Naruto vaguely wondered if this was a bad thing. Not even five seconds later he was proved right.

"Deidara, you haven't repaid me for those lovely gifts I gave you." Sasori said with a grin. Sasuke looked appalled. Deidara froze and spun around almost smacking Naruto in the face with his tray. Naruto backed up a little, knocking into Sasuke slightly.

"You want me to repay you? I don't feel the need to. But if you really insist, I wouldn't mind-" Naruto saw Deidara reach for the pouch at his side. Naruto's eyes widened. They weren't really going to fight it out here, were they? Naruto felt like he had no business interrupting what seemed to be a personal conversation, but he was an Uzumaki and he since Uzumakis were presiding over the meeting, he wouldn't allow any fighting.

"Hey, maybe you should calm down," Naruto said, grabbing Deidara's hand.

"Huh? Why do I have to listen to you brat, un?" Deidara snarled, slapping Naruto's hand away. Sasuke caught Deidara's arm, his sharnigan activated.

"Watch it." Sasuke darkly glared at Deidara.

"Oh, it's the Uchiha." Deidara uttered, seemingly bored. Sasori was starting to tug Sasuke backwards, Naruto was telling himself Sasuke was doing pure guard duty. "By the way, I've noticed this since day one, but what the heck is the relationship between you two?" Deidara asked Naruto and Sasuke.

"And why do you have to know?" Naruto asked Deidara, wondering what it was that Deidara saw. Deidara shrugged.

"If you don't want to tell me, be my guest." He turned back to the front after sending a murderous glare at Sasori, only Naruto felt like it wasn't as murderous as it was tensed. They were seated with Sunagakure and Konan for lunch as she rattled off the most insane things about Yahiko and Nagato that she had ever witnessed. One that really cracked Naruto up was about how Nagato had once gotten angry at Yahiko and submerged himself in the nearby river. Yahiko had got searching for him and when Konan and Karin had finally found them, both of them were making out under water and had later ended up getting beaten to bits by Karin. Naruto couldn't help but feel jealous, wanting to be someone like that to Sasuke. But he knew he didn't really deserve that.

Just about it was time for them to head back up to the meeting hall when suddenly they heard shouting on the other end. Karui and Kurotsuchi were growling at each other, totally looking they were going to rip each other's hair off. Omoi looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

"Now, now, girls, let's just calm down now." Karin who was closest started to step in.

"Oh back off, messy red headed freak," Kurotsuchi snapped.

"Oh no," Both Naruto and Konan said at the same time.

"What was that, you-" And then Karin was in the fray.

"Good Rikudou, they're going to kill each other at this rate." Konan stood up, headed over. She wasn't even half way across the room when suddenly Nagato was standing next to all of them and then they all went flying to different sides of the room. Utter silence.

"If you three would like to fight, please do outside. This happens to be someone's home, I prefer you don't destroy it." Nagato smiled.

"Ow, sorry Nagato..." Karin got up from the ground. Everyone was staring at Nagato with wide eyes. Naruto ran over to Konan's side, followed by the rest of his group. That wasn't a Fuuton jutsu. Naruto knew that for a fact. There were no seals made either. He just shoved them apart.

"Oh this looks interesting, un!" Deidara crowed.

"Deidara, don't!" Akatsuchi yelled and suddenly Deidara jumped at Nagato throwing little clay creatures at Nagato.

"Katsu!" Deidara yelled. For a moment Naruto was blinded by the explosions. And then the explosions vanished completely. Naruto blinked, no, to be exact, they were sucked, sucked into oblivion by Nagato's hand.

"As I said, please fight outside if you must. I don't mind accepting a duel challenge." Nagato said. Deidara was speechless. Kitsuchi grabbed Deidara and dragged him away. "Now, if everyone can please start heading upstairs." People starting to silently head toward the upper floor. Fuu trotted over to Nagato and patted his back, a grin on her face.

"Konan neechan..." Naruto said slowly.

"Ask him later if you want to," Konan smiled, ruffling his hair. "He is the rinnegan user after all. You can't expect him to be weak, right?"

-o-

Lunch had been followed by a very boring discussion of politics which was then followed by all the fun things they could do as leaders and get away with it. That was interesting. Naruto was most enamoured by all the food shops he could erect as Hokage. Yugito was fascinated by the ability to match make the ninja who worked under her by putting them on missions together. After that, everyone dispersed, free to go sparring and exploring the bottom floor of the building which was a library on shinobi history. It even had artifacts. Naruto explored the jutsu section enchanted soon by a series of jutsu which could make the use of the air around him for practically generating any of the elements. It was a long complicated process, but Naruto swore to see through it. Naruto ate dinner with the Amegakure group and Fuu. After wishing each other good night, they headed back to their rooms. Naruto had been avoiding talking to Sasuke like the plague. But once he entered the room, he realized, he had to sleep in the bed next to Sasuke's. Naruto sighed.

"These beds are two close, I'm really clumsy at night, I won't be able to fit in these small aisles." Naruto complained.

"We can't help it, it's a small and average country." Sai said, quickly lying on his bed. Itachi put up their barriers and got into bed as well.

"Let's hope we can sleep in peace tonight." Sasuke muttered, before turning over to go to sleep. Naruto got into bed and closed his eyes, hand tight around the necklace in his pant pocket.

Naruto woke up from a nightmare at what he assumed was around two in the morning. He stuttered to the bathroom and washed his face from the cold sweat. He was happy that at least he hadn't screamed or woken anyone up. He tried to make it back to his bed in the dark, tottering with his still half asleep mind, his mind still plagued by nightmares. His foot knocked into the bed. Damn, too close. He climbed in and quickly went back to sleep, unaware of how warm and comfortable it had gotten.

-o-

Naruto felt the weight in the bed shift. Even with his eyes closed, he remembered where he was pretty well. It was probably Itachi sitting on his bed and doing something. Then the weight shifted a little more. OK, he wasn't seated on the bed, but rather moving around on it? Confused, Naruto opened his eyes and froze. The person situated a little above him also froze. He was leaning over Naruto, hands holding him up. His hands were on either side of Naruto's head. Deep red spread from Naruto's face all the way down to his neck, his mouth hanging slightly open in shock.

"S-sasuke?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really difficult sticking to the story line when I have all these people's reactions to elaborate on. And with so many characters put in, it's really difficult trying to stick to Naruto's point of view. Anyway, some people seem to believe Sasuke actually blames Naruto for his brother's death. Let me make things clear. Sasuke never said that.


	13. Chapter 13

Sasuke looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Naruto had never seen such a panicked look on the younger Uchiha's face since the Uzumaki massacre. Also, to add to the disbelief that was gathering in Naruto, Sasuke's cheeks were red. Like he was embarrassed. Impossible, Uchiha Sasuke was embarrassed? Naruto was torn in between staring in wonder, trying to find out what the heck was going on and passing out due to the heat he felt infused in his face. Very much like a goldfish, Sasuke's mouth opened and closed soundlessly a couple of times.

"Th-that is...I-I was trying to g-get the water bottle!" Sasuke stuttered, before suddenly seeming to collect his wits. "Wait, scratch that! What the heck are you doing in my bed, dobe?" Sasuke snapped, his face still displaying that lovely and rare red colour. It took Naruto a couple of seconds however to fully comprehend what Sasuke had just said - since he was so preoccupied with the fascinating emotions so plain as day on Sasuke's face, Naruto felt like he was in the best dream possible. However, once the words Sasuke had said registered, Naruto's eyes widened, breaking into cold sweat but still burning with the blush that was all the way to his chest - wait, why was that even possible?

"Your bed?" Naruto practically shrieked in horror, sitting up so fast in desperation, his forehead slammed straight into Sasuke's.

"FUCK!" Their howls of pain could have probably woken the dead as both of them lay crumpled - still on Sasuke's bed - in pain. Naruto could hear Kurama in the background crackling in utter amusement and refusing to alleviate his pain just to gain more entertainment by watching him suffer. Sasuke was cursing under his breath. Speaking of his breath, it was moist against his neck. Finally being able to foggily understand his situation through the pain, Naruto realized it had just gotten more embarrassing. Sasuke was collapsed on top of him, face situated somewhere in between his shoulder and neck, one of his legs was snug in between Naruto's, his knee a little too close for comfort. Considering the fact that Sasuke had stopped moving and was stock still, the second Uchiha Prince seemed to have understood their position as well.

And ever so slowly, Sasuke pulled himself up, just high enough for him to lock gazes with Naruto. Naruto swallowed past the lump of nervousness in his throat. Sasuke's face was flushed, his forehead starting to turn a little purple and his pupils were bigger than normal. Naruto itched to do something. Every cell in his body wanted to kiss Uchiha Sasuke - and for some bizarre reason, he knew with no doubt that Sasuke was absolutely an amazing kisser. This wasn't the first time in his life that Naruto had wanted to kiss Sasuke. But it was the first time Naruto had felt the static electricity between them. The hair on his neck, arms and legs were standing all on edge as if Sasuke was preparing to use a chidori. The tension was fragile Naruto felt like a single sound could break it and interrupt them. Remembering interruptions, the very small still-rational part of Naruto's brain told him that they definitely should have been inter-

"Oh, the two of you are finally awake." Sai shut the bathroom door behind him. Faster than Naruto could ever remember himself moving, Sasuke and Naruto practically flung themselves to opposite ends on the room. Heart hammering in his chest as he lay on Sai's bed, Naruto internally whined in disappointment. "Itachi san is outside checking his barriers." Sai said with that unreadable smile of his as if he hadn't just witnessed the most awkward moment concerning his teammates. But as Naruto started to wake up properly and clearly, it occurred to him, he _had_ been on Sasuke's bed. The night before, he probably had climbed into Sasuke's bed instead of his own! How mortifying! What was worse, he realized with growing dismay, Itachi and Sai had seen him sleeping next to Sasuke as clear as day.

His life was over.

Itachi and Sai had blackmail material over him for the next few centuries. And knowing Sai, Ino would probably be a shareholder in the information of the blackmail material, meaning Sakura would find out. Naruto was never ever going to be able live this morning down. He could hear Ino screaming something along the lines of: 'Yes! You're finally getting Sasuke-kun to snap! Let him snap completely! Yahahahahahaha!' Naruto's life was turning into a nightmare of crow obsessed psychopaths and blonde haired yaoi fan girls.

Sasuke didn't seem to be faring any better. He looked like his world was coming down around his ears. Ouch, was being seen with Naruto really that bad for him? At least Itachi hadn't seen them in that position. Naruto was still rather dumb founded. Had the static electricity all been his imagination again like the almost kiss the day before yesterday? Because there was no way something like that seriously happened! The door opened and Itachi walked in.

"Oh good, you guys are awake." He said with that all knowing grin on his face. Naruto cringed. He had given the devil an advantage. "Well, get ready for breakfast. It appears we'll be eating with the Amegakure group." Great, Naruto thinks this is the first time in the past two days Naruto has not wanted to stick to his recently rediscovered cousins. It was all Itachi's fault, really. Everything was always Itachi's fault.

Almost an instant later, Sasuke vanished into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. He was totally upset. Naruto felt an headache starting. It was hard enough to talk normally to Sasuke, this was making things worse. Their relationship was so badly strained, Naruto was sure when they'd get back to Konoha, even Kiba would be able to see the obvious rift in between them. Why were things so difficult. It wasn't like they were on the verge of getting married, Naruto assumed that would be the worst point in their relationship. Itachi should be the one seriously thinking, not him. Naruto straightened up. That was right, who was Itachi's fiancé?

"Itachi niisan, can you answer a question for me?" Naruto asked.

"Sure." Itachi said.

"Who are you going to get married to?" Naruto asked. Silence.

"Sai, did your mice report anything?" Itachi asked.

"Itachi niisan!" Naruto snapped. When Itachi continued to rattle on to Sai, Naruto tried to deduce the answer himself. "It has to be an Uchiha clan member..." Naruto muttered under his breath. Itachi never interacted with anyone else outside the clan, unless the person was in ANBU. Naruto didn't want to have to ask Kakashi sensei. If Itachi was this quiet about it, it meant he didn't want Naruto to know. And why was that? Because he didn't like his fiancé? Because his fiancé was embarrassing? Because Naruto would have blackmail material? Either way, Naruto was itching to know. Naruto knew breaking off an engagement was frowned upon. Therefore, Itachi should have the fiancé he had since before Kyodo died. Which could also mean it could be someone not from the clan since only the first born was expected to have a fiancé from the clan. Naruto was a different story since Nagato and Karin had been there when Naruto had been promised to Sasuke. That left Naruto wondering what happened to his cousin's fiancés? It kind of sucked that only the big three clans seemed to still have this custom. Of course there were some who didn't get engaged beforehand, for example, Naruto's mother and Nagato's mother. That was also a possibility for Itachi. But if he didn't have a fiancé why didn't he just come out and tell him? He knew Naruto wouldn't judge. Naruto sighed and then got up to get ready.

-o-

It was awful. Naruto's day had been terrible. The meeting was all boring and Naruto honestly wanted to sleep through it all but Gaara and Sai had kept him awake throughout. Naruto was then hounded by Karin every spare moment there was. She was desperate to heae the details of him having shared a bed with Sasuke. Itachi and his traitorous mouth. After that they had played a games where everyone asked one question to each person. Naruto had been asked a series of questions from why he had whiskers to what his sexuality was. That one was the worst question Naruto had to answer. It was as bad as what Haku had to answer though. Afterwards, Naruto had headed back to the library. Deidara had picked a fight with him over not going to spar with everyone to go read in the library. Nagato had been the one to separate them. All in all, his day had not been pretty. Plus he hadn't spoken to Sasuke at all. The warmth Sasuke had shown him the day before was nowhere to be found.

"Who would've thought sitting all day with idiots from all over would be this tiring." Temari sighed, slamming her tray down onto the table.

"You can say that again, sitting next to Deidara all day is a nightmare." Kurotsuchi put her tray on the table, promptly joining them.

"I can imagine that," Itachi agreed. "Luckily we can make Naruto shut up." Itachi cheekily added.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto snarled, trying to stab Itachi with his chopsticks.

"And Gaara barely says anything at all." Kankurou said. "The loudest on our group is definitely Sasori san."

"Speaking of which, he's bugging Deidara, is it alright to leave him like that?" Karin picked Naruto's peas out of his rice and put them on her rice.

"I don't want to move, Sasuke's pass me the salt." Temari waved at Sasuke.

"This fish dish is bland, isn't it?" Yugito asked Sai who she was sitting next to. The two of them were very interested in each other's jutsu and had been chatting all day.

"But nobody is as energetic as Fuu," Karui muttered. "Oh look, she's scaring the crap out of Omoi." The entire meeting was now divided into two tables. Those who had been depleted of energy and those who had too much energy. Nagato and Yahiko were busy working and Konan was taking care of the rowdy group. Deidara had managed to rope in Utakata and his group to the energetic table. Those who had been unfortunately ensnared were abandoned by their friends. No one in the first group wanted to near the second group.

"Oh Naruto, I have to ask, after dinner can we practice some fuuton techniques? No one here has fuuton jutsus as powerful as you do." Temari leaned over the table, pointing her chopsticks at him. "You've been holed up in the library since yesterday so I didn't get the chance to ask you. So what do you say?" Naruto blinked.

"Sure, I suppose I should do some training too, I've been slacking." Naruto admitted.

"Um, I'll be going to the library with Yugito san and Karui san." Sai said to Naruto.

"Heh? But I'm going to be talking to Nagato about certain issues." Itachi said in surprise. Naruto blinked. That left only one guard to go with him. Everyone turned to look at Sasuke. Sasuke looked up from the fish he was dissecting.

"Fine, I'll go." Sasuke said emotionlessly. "It's not like I have a choice."

"Right, I'll go and get some things from our room and then I'll join you guys at the training grounds." Temari said as she finished up her dinner and got up to put her tray away. Naruto watched her go. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen any staff other than the white eyed man. It made him wonder who helped clean up everything. Just one person?

Naruto walked to the training ground, Sasuke trailing a little behind him. The silence was stifling. Naruto had shelved the sexual tension this morning as his imagination, but that still didn't change the fact that he had slept in Sasuke's bed. How was he going to fix this? Apologizing would be too awkward. But seriously, what did he have to lose? Deciding to go for broke, Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-"

"If you apologize for this morning, I'll kill you." Sasuke muttered, looking away from Naruto. "The huger a fuss you make of it, the more amused Itachi niisan will become, not to mention your family." Naruto stopped with his mouth open.

"Right..." Naruto turned back the other way. Seriously! What was he supposed to say? It wasn't like they could go back to their insulting ways. Why the hell was Temari taking so long? Ah, that was right, he could try and find out who Itachi's fiancé was. Naruto turned towards Sasuke again.

"Sorry for taking so long, you guys!" Temari ran over. Her fan was slung over her shoulder and she was holding an armful of books and scrolls. "I got these from the library." She explained, spreading the material on the ground. The three of them bent over the scrolls and books.

"Oh, these are the jutsus I'm working on. Of course you'd be interested Temari san! Let's get these done together!" Naruto said excitedly. Temari grinned, equally excited. Naruto knew Temari was one of the strongest wind element users that he had ever met. Once she had discovered Naruto was a strong wind element user, the two of them had often discussed techniques whenever they met.

"Wow, whoever worked on this did some extensive research..." Sasuke said, finger pointing at how to generate the lightning element from wind.

"Ah that's right, you're a fire and lightning user, right?" Temari asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Hm, let's see, you can generate lightning by rubbing two lines of air until it gets charged up..." Sasuke watched Naruto and Temari discuss the different techniques and how much imagery would be required. Naruto had to admit, whoever had put this together had researched a lot. It probably would've taken Naruto years to think up things like this. When Temari yawned, one hour into their training Naruto suggested they go sleep. "Right, I'll return these to the library." Temari said, starting to gather up the scrolls and books.

"Ah no, I'll do it, you've had a tough time keeping Sasori san in line today, and it's late." Naruto quickly pried everything out of her arms. Temari didn't argue. She was pretty tired. It was only after she had said goodnight and left that Naruto realized the predicament he had put himself into. Sasuke stood silently next to Naruto.

"Well, are we going to the library or not?" Sasuke asked flatly.

"Ah right, let's go." Naruto hurriedly started off, Sasuke easily striding after his erratic and nervous footsteps. They shelved the books and scrolls silently and then Naruto hurried back out to the hallway, Sasuke always just two steps behind him. Naruto blinked and jumped slightly backwards when he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He turned, staring uneasily out the window at the dark forest. He almost felt like someone was watching him. A hand rested on his shoulder and Naruto looked up to see Sasuke, glaring out the window with his Sharingan. "S-sasuke?" Naruto asked. Naruto was spooked, but Sasuke's touch was reassuring. Sasuke frowned, still staring at the darkness created by the canopy of trees.

"Let's go back to the room quickly, something feels strange..." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded and allowed Sasuke to guide him by his hand back to their room.

_Well done..._

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt an all too familiar and sinister bloodlust. Clenching his fists, he slightly turned back to look out the window. The shadows moved. That was all Naruto needed to go into full on alert mode. Instantly he was in his Kyuubi mode, shoving Sasuke away slightly. It was faint, but he felt the horrific evil intentions from the dark forest.

"Sasuke, there's something out there!" Naruto said, starting towards the door that led outside. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm, Naruto turned, it was his Mangekyo.

"We're going inside, we have to tell Nagato san." Sasuke snapped, dragging Naruto with him.

"But Sasuke-" Naruto said.

"Shut up and come with me, how many times do you have to be told that your opponents are formidable Uchihas? This doesn't just concern you but everyone here. Either way, no one can slip past all those barriers easily. We have to tell your cousins." Sasuke dragged Naruto all the way to Nagato's room and knocked. Yahiko was the one that opened the door.

"Come in," he invited them in without a question. Everyone was alert and armed in the room.

"Karin said that your chakra patterns had gotten erratic. What's going on?" Nagato asked, looking very serious.

"There's something out there. It won't come close, but there is something out there in the forest so that it'd chakra won't be sensed." Naruto said. "I was going to go and find out what was happening but Sasuke stopped me." Naruto frowned.

"And rightly so." Nagato said, looking at Sasuke gratefully. "We know nothing of our enemies, going into that forest where you can't use your chakra is a very bad idea, Naruto. Don't leave these grounds under any cost, you understand me?"

"We'll keep a watch tonight and quickly inform everyone if anything happens. " Karin said. "It would be great if we had a Yamanaka though, communication would become easier. Oh well, we'll have to rely on Fuu then."

"I'll go get Fuu." Konan stood up.

"Yahiko, walk them to their room. As soon as we regroup we'll go up to the roof." Nagato said.

"Wait, let me help!" Naruto said. He wouldn't leave his family to just protect him. He wanted to stand beside them. Nagato sighed and turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke kun," Nagato said. Sasuke nodded, grabbed Naruto's arm again and tugged him along, Yahiko following after them.

"Hey! Sasuke!" Naruto protested.

"Don't make me put you to sleep with my Sharingan." Sasuke said sharply.

"But what if-" Naruti began.

"Naruto kun, did you know Nagato can use all five elements?" Yahiko asked. Naruto blinked in surprise. Wait a moment! How was that even possible? "He also can absorb any jutsu and his doujutsu is the most powerful there is. He'll be fine." Yahiko smiled. "Rest for now, in the morning, Nagato will inform everyone and tell everyone what they are to do, that includes you. He's just looking out for you, you know." Naruto was unhappy, but he nodded.

They knocked and Itachi opened the door. If he was surprised to see Yahiko and Sasuke holding onto an upset Naruto, it did not show on his face. Yahiko said goodnight and then ran towards the staircase to go the roof. Once the door was shut Itachi turned to them with raised eyebrows. Sai took his precious time to look up from his painting.

"What's going on?" Itachi demanded to know.

"Naruto sensed something in the forest when he went into Kyuubi mode." Sasuke explained. "I felt it as well, but I wasn't too sure until Naruto confirmed it. It's pure evil niisan, it gave me the goosebumps just by feeling it's presence. We informed Nagato san and his group right away. They're going to be on watch duty tonight with Fuu." Naruto noticed the distaste in Sasuke's voice when he mentioned the green haired girl.

"Hm...no wonder it's so quiet tonight, everyone must have felt it in the air. Ah...there will be no rest tonight. We'll keep a watch in the room. The first watch will be Sai and I. We'll wake the two of you up when it's your turn." Itachi said, checking the contents of his pouch. "Everyone else is probably doing the same." Naruto and Sasuke didn't argue with Itachi's decision. In such situations, Itachi was a genius, he was called the best ANBU captain for a reason. So while Sai and Itachi sat there, all their senses on alert, Naruto forced himself to fall asleep.

It was two in the morning when Itachi woke him up. He sat up and Itachi told him that they were switching watch. Naruto sat up, gathering his pouch closer to himself. Sasuke was awake and standing near the door, hand on his sword. In the dim light, Sasuke's serious face took Naruto's breath away. Itachi curled up into his bed and Naruto stood up, going to stand by the window to peer out into the darkness. Naruto observed the edge of the trees, expecting the shadows to move. Suddenly Sasuke's hand was on the glass right next to Naruto's face. Naruto turned.

_Woah, close!_

Sasuke's face was a little to Naruto's right, staring out the window with his sharingan. What was with this close proximity? It was making Naruto feel dizzy, which was quite a feat given the kind of tension they were under.

_You mean sexual tension?_ Kurama cackled evilly.

_You're not helping Kurama, damn you!_ Naruto snapped back at the amused fox.

And then Sasuke's hands were on his shoulders and he was steering Naruto to the door. Contact! Way too much contact in one day! It almost seemed surreal.

"Stand by the door in sage mode. I'll guard the window," Sasuke said, giving Naruto one last push. Naruto turned back, about to protest. "You'll get morbid thoughts standing over here and you won't be able to do your job properly, don't be a nuisance." Sasuke muttered.

"Huh? Are you picking a fight?" Naruto huffed.

"Oh shut up and do what I asked you to do. I'm smarter anyway." Sasuke turned back to the window. Naruto frowned and sat down to gather natural energy, his heart was still thumping loudly from having Sasuke suddenly come so close. Urgh...he was pretty hopeless. He couldn't let himself get carried away. He had to remember that he took away Sasuke and Itachi's brother from them. Naruto's body stilled as he went into sage mode. Quite like them, two people were awake in each room. Naruto could agree with Karin when he went into Sage mode, Sasuke's chakra was amazing, but so was Itachi's. But something about Sasuke's chakra stood out. Around four in the morning Naruto felt a large amount of chakra rapidly approaching the window Sasuke was standing at. Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"Sasuke, Fuu! Open the window!" Naruto said. Sasuke moved instantly, opening the window. Itachi and Sai had woken up the moment Naruto had spoke. The girl flew in through the window, alighting on the ground.

"Yosh! Sorry to disturb you guys, but Nagato and team are asking if they can have Naruto and Sasuke come up to the roof. Also, Itachi san, will you please take care of the first half of the meeting? These are the documents Nagato wants you to discuss." Fuu held out the file of papers to Itachi. Itachi took the papers with a frown.

"I understand that Nagato wants the best for Naruto and he wishes to protect him, but in situations like this, I might have to decline. For Nagato, Naruto is his beloved cousin, to us, Naruto is the representative of Konoha. Why should I let Naruto go? He should participate in the meeting as well." Itachi said firmly.

"Niisan, I think we should trust Nagato san." Sasuke said. "Although he first sees Naruto as a cousin, he is not stupid. He's a very smart person, I don't think he would do anything unless necessary." Sasuke pointed out, tilting his head to the side slightly. Silence. Everyone stared at Sasuke. Naruto was surprised, he totally didn't expect Sasuke to speak up. Usually he left team plans to Itachi. Moreover, he usually kept quiet about anything that involved Naruto if there was someone else to take care of the situation.

"Oh-Oh my! Sasuke! Do you hear yourself? I never thought the day would come! Naruto! He's accepting his in laws!" Itachi said excitedly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto and Sasuke snapped at the same time. Both of them turned to glare at each other. Damn, what was happening? Why was his situation with Sasuke going like this? He wanted to tear his hair out and remind himself that he was supposed to drown in guilt.

"Very well then, I have no objections. I'll look over the documents. I assume they have to do with our current situation, otherwise there would be political complications." Itachi nodded, his face expressionless. Naruto wondered if that was what his face always looked like under the ANBU mask.

"Alright then! Both of you, follow me!" Fuu climbed out of the window and then using their chakra they walked up the side of the building to the roof while Fuu flew next to them rattling on about her village leader and making a hundred friends. Naruto found her excitement very endearing. On the other hand, Sasuke looked like he wanted to chidori her. On the roof, standing in four different directions were Team Amegakure.

"Ah, there you guys are, Fuu, take my place." Nagato waved at Fuu. Fuu quickly hurried over to his spot, her wings still out. Nagato walked over to them.

"So the situation is like this. We've isolated the location of our enemy but we know nothing of his powers. There is only one and as far as we can tell he definitely won't step into this area in broad daylight. Everyone is forbidden to walk around alone even inside the building. Karin will be keeping constant track of everyone, however, takes up a lot of her chakra, so I have to give her chakra at certain intervals. It would be great if you could help me out with that Naruto, her body will reject chakra that isn't Uzumaki chakra."

"Ah, yeah sure." Naruto nodded.

"Now we have to talk about the important stuff. We think that he might be here for Gaara kun." Nagato said. Naruto blinked.

"Gaara? No! Like hell I'd let anything happen to him!" Naruto snarled.

"Exactly. Which is why I'm informing you beforehand. Since you went to Kumogakure with Gaara kun, your relationship is good, giving you less room to turn your back on him since he's more than just a close friend. You've seen each other's darkness and helped each other out of that pit." Nagato said.

"How did you know that he's here for Gaara?" Sasuke asked.

"A lot of people believe Bijuu strength is decided by their tails. The enemy is targeting the Bijuu but can't get all of them in one go. Who would you take first, Sasuke kun?" Nagato asked.

"Gaara..." Sasuke said slowly.

"Now here is where the two of you come in. We have to keep watch here all day unfortunately. There is a high possibility that the enemy may have somehow already tampered with the belongings of different teams, especially if they can imitate some of the rinnegan techniques. We need the two of you to check everyone's belongings without letting anyone know. As soon as the meeting starts and Itachi san has everyone occupied, you guys can start your check. But for now, why don't you join us on the watch?" Nagato asked. Both Sasuke and Naruto agreed. They stood there on watch patiently.

"Ah come on...Sasori san and Deidara are arguing again. At six in the morning? Don't they have anything better to do?" Karin sighed.

"No way! Are their rooms even close?" Fuu turned to Karin.

"Unfortunately yes..." Konan deadpanned.

_Ah...so maybe those two were the reason Sai and Sasuke couldn't sleep the first night?_ Naruto thought.

Yahiko who was right next to Naruto told him some of Nagato and Karin's interesting habits while they sat on the edge of the building.

"Itachi has started addressing them. Everyone is in place. Naruto, Sasuke kun, go." Karin said. Naruto and Sasuke wasted no time in jumping off the building and going into the first room with the set of keys that Nagato had given them. It was the Kirigakure groups room. The room looked practically spotless. There were a couple of things stored, but they didn't seem to be all that important.

"So the question is, how do we go through the room without alerting them?" Naruto frowned.

"Tell them it's room service?" Sasuke shrugged. Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment before laughing.

"What the? Rikudou! I think that's the funniest thing I've ever heard _you_ say!" Naruto cackled. "Room service! What is with you today, Sasuke?"

"Keep quiet." Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Ah I know, use your Kyuubi Sage mode, that should do the trick right? Then we don't have to touch anything unnecessary." Naruto was still cracking up when he sat down to work. As he calmed his mind he wondered whether this happiness would last. What would happen when everything would be revealed? Would even Itachi reject him?

Although Naruto used his Kyuubi Sage mode, it still took a long time to identify everything. At one point he thought one of Utakata's relics were a problem. Once they were done with Kirigakure, they moved to Kumogakure. From there they went to Iwagakure. Fuu's room was checked as well. They entered the Sunagakure room and Naruto sat down to gather chakra and natural energy. Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"Oh shit, oh shit!" Naruto cursed.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked in concern.

"Sasori and Deidara are coming this way! Let's get out of here." Naruto went to the window, Sasuke right behind him. "There's a barrier, what do we do? We can't dispel it without them knowing! Ah that's right! Room service!" Naruto babbled nervously. Any other room and he would've been less panicky. He did not want to be caught by Deidara and Sasori even if it killed him.

"Get over here!" Sasuke grabbed his arm and dragged him straight into the little closet, putting up a barrier so that Sasori and Deidara wouldn't realise they were there. It was cramped, one of Kankurou's puppets was right beside them.

"Oi! You really think we can get away with this? They're expert shinobi you know! There's a reason why they're here!" Naruto hissed, too scared of being caught by the spit-fire duo to realize that he was practically pressed up against Sasuke because of the space problem.

"We'll be fine, neither of them are sensory-" Sasuke started and cut himself off when the door slammed open and then slammed close.

"What the hell, Sasori- mph!" Naruto's eyes widened as he very clearly heard Deidara get pushed down onto a bed. Oh great Hashirama, no! No, no, no! This situation was wrong! Very wrong! Why was Naruto stuck in a closet, next to one of Kankurou's puppets, while pressed up against Sasuke when Deidara and Sasori were going at it outside? It was bad for his heart. He might as well pass out. Naruto almost squeaked when he tried to pull away slightly only to have a puppet part press painfully in between his shoulder blades, sending him straight back into Sasuke's arms. Woah...Naruto's lips were pressed against Sasuke's jaw! Yeah, now would be a good time to pass out.

And then Deidara moaned.

_Kamisama save me!_

-o-

"Hey, they have a break now, are Naruto and Sasuke still doing their work?" Konan asked worriedly.

"I suppose..." Yahiko said.

"Oi, oi, oi! Why are people roaming around?" Karin hissed.

"Huh? Wait, what? Oh no! I didn't tell Itachi to make sure they all stayed in one place till I gave clearance!" Nagato cried out.

"Hey! Take responsibility! Naruto and Sasuke are trapped in the closet of Sunagakure's room with Deidara and Sasori in the room!" Karin snapped.

"Hah?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here! I spiced things up for you guys! A couple of months ago when I was planning this scene it was actually going to be Sasuke and Naruto investigating Mangetsu when Suigetsu walks in. I just decided to make it a little more fun! Also, thank you guys for sticking around! I've been studying and binge reading manga...that gets you...distracted. Sorry. I'll let you guys guess who will be the first person to be attacked! Muahahahaha! As for Itachi's fiance? You'll find out in due time! Well then, I'll see you guys. I'll write as fast as possible!


	14. Chapter 14

Stuffy, Awkward and  _ We are so friggin dead. _ Naruto repeated in his head over and over again like a prayer. Naruto wanted to block out the noises with his hands, but thanks to the puppet, he didn't have the room to do so. His face was getting very warm. He wanted to stop his brain from trying picture what the two were doing, but that was impossible! How could he not for heaven's sake? He was a healthy eighteen year old boy! Maybe he should just fall asleep instead of embarrassing himself in front of Sasuke. Karin could tell where they were, right? He needed to be saved. He prayed that Nagato would somehow rescue him. That was right, all Naruto had to do was tune out the noise, think of something else, anything else!

 

"Sasori..." Deidara whined.

 

Oh shit. Naruto screwed his eyes shut. He was turned on. All he could smell was Sasuke. Sasuke was way too close, hands resting slightly on Naruto's upper arms from having dragged Naruto into the closet. Naruto's skin was burning, he wanted to touch Sasuke, but Sasuke would kill him and then they would be discovered. Naruto tried to clear his mind. Getting discovered by the Sunagakure ninja was worse than having to control himself. Deidara might blow them up.  _ Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm- _

Naruto almost jumped when suddenly Sasuke's lips pressed against his ear. Naruto's eyes widened. Wait, it was an accident, right? An accident, definitely an accident because of the space problem. After all, Naruto had practically kissed Sasuke's jaw for the same exact reason. Sasuke's lips moved across Naruto's ear, brushing lightly against his skin. There was no way  _ that _ was an accident. Naruto's face flushed. No way. Sasuke's grip on his arms got tighter and Naruto felt a wetness against his ear. Sasuke licked the shell of Naruto's ear. Feeling dizzy, Naruto's legs gave way and he slumped against Sasuke.

"Sasuke..." Naruto whimpered. Sasuke dragged Naruto a little higher, leg pressed in between Naruto's. Naruto couldn't think. He was so confused and yet elated that he just stopped thinking so that he wouldn't give himself a headache from panicking all over the place. Sasuke's teeth sank into the skin of Naruto's ear, and before he could stop himself, Naruto moaned. Sasuke's mouth moved to Naruto jaw, nipping lightly. Years of imagining Sasuke touching him, self restraint and frustration made Naruto hyper sensitive to Sasuke's touch. Naruto moaned a little, leaning into Sasuke’s body, submitting himself to the pleasure, practically forgetting that there were two people outside the closet. Sasuke settled on Naruto’s pulse point, sucking the skin in between his teeth while Naruto dug his nails into his sides, eyes closing focusing on only the sensation of Sasuke’s mouth against his neck. Sasuke was taking his sweet time. The slow pace was driving Naruto insane. He wanted to be touched in other places too. Naruto flinched in surprise and his eyes snapped open in surprise when Sasuke bit him hard.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto yelped. Sasuke pulled away a little, smirking as he ran his tongue over his lips.

 

“That’s a good look on you.” Sasuke said, nuzzling his nose underneath Naruto’s ear. Involuntarily, Naruto tipped his head to the side giving Sasuke more access to his neck.

 

“Sasori san, Deidara nii! Get out of right now!” Suddenly they heard Kurotsuchi’s voice yell. There was violent banging on the door. Both Sasuke and Naruto froze, snapped out of their stupor. Naruto was frozen in something close to a mix of mortification, confusion and delight. He didn’t dare to look at Sasuke’s face.

 

“Shit! Damn it! Get the fuck off of me!” Naruto heard Deidara snarl. He heard a crash, which he assumed was Sasori landing on the ground.

 

“Move, I’ll open it. Sasori san, Deidara san, I’ll be opening the door now.” Naruto heard Gaara’s voice. Naruto felt his eyes widen in horror. No way, if Gaara found them as they were, Naruto would never be able to look at the sand user in the eye again. Naruto heard the door open and Deidara screech as he fled the room as Kurotsuchi ran after him. “Sasori san, I understand that you and Deidara san have something going on, but I will have to ask you to refrain from making our group look bad. Moreover, as the senior most member of this group, your behaviour is not exemplary. I expect that you will reflect on your mistakes.” Gaara said sternly.

 

“Hai, hai,” Sasori’s voice lazily said and Naruto heard his footsteps fade away. Now they just had to wait for Gaara to leave.

 

“I don’t know why you two are here, but I assume it has to do with the recent events.” Gaara’s voice said. Naruto squeaked. How? Gaara wasn’t a sensory-

 

“Shit, sand.” Sasuke cursed under his breath. Naruto looked down and saw the bottom of the closet covered in tiny sand grains.

 

“I trust you Naruto, so I won’t question you. But it will be better if you clear out as soon as possible.” The door clicked shut. Sasuke shoved the closet door open and clambered out. Naruto was still frozen. Sasuke wasn’t looking at him. Naruto couldn’t see his face at all.

 

“H-hurry up and check the room.” Sasuke quickly said, his back still towards Naruto. Naruto blinked. That was right! He was supposed to be checking the room.

 

“Uh...right!” Naruto quickly sat cross legged and went into Kyuubi sage mode, checking for anything. After fifteen minutes, he hadn’t found a thing. “Nothing...” Naruto stood up.

 

“Then let’s go report, if there’s anything off, it’ll be on a person.” Sasuke walked out without another word and Naruto hurried after him. They climbed back onto the roof. Nagato was waiting for them. “Nothing in their room, if there really is something, it’ll be on someone. Moreover, Gaara knows we were in his room, but he let us off.” Sasuke explained. Naruto ducked his head and headed over to Karin while Nagato and Sasuke talked.

 

“Thank kami you guys came back in one piece. I was getting worried when Gaara was right outsid-“ Karin cut herself off. “Naruto...is that a hickey?” Karin asked slowly, pointing at the offending mark on Naruto’s neck. Naruto’s eyes widened, hand coming up and slapping against his neck, trying to hide the mark. “Oh my-” Karin started with gusto. Naruto lunged forward, quickly covering her mouth.

 

“Sh, please neechan! It’s not what you think.” Naruto whispered. Karin raised an eyebrow. “Trust me, I’m serious.” Naruto begged of her. The medical ninja rolled her eyes and then nodded. Naruto pulled away, quickly using a henge of his own self so that the hickey wouldn’t be seen by others.

 

“I’m going to assume you had quite a few complications inside that closet. Is that why you guys aren’t looking at each other?” Karin asked. Naruto nodded, looking down at his feet. “Argh! Why is there so much tension and suspense? Just get on with it!” Karin snapped, clutching her head. Naruto blinked at her and watched her rant for a couple more minutes before she suddenly grabbed his shoulders. “I know, do me a favour and just walk over to him and kiss him, OK?” Karin asked. Naruto gaped at her.

 

“No way!” Naruto said firmly.

 

"Why not?" Karin whined, unhappily. Naruto clenched his fists, wondering how to answer. He didn't want to lie to his cousin. So Naruto decided to speak his fears.

 

"I don't think he would ever think of me that way." Naruto shrugged. "If he ever even once thought of me that way it's because he's a growing, hormonal eighteen year old. Moreover what happened in the closet was definitely because we both were influenced by Sasori san and Deidara san outside of the closet. But you know, recently, there have been so many tiny incidents that, I just can't help but put my hopes up. But what if he's pulling back because he's haunted by his brother's death and my role in it? If that's the case, I don't want to do anything at all. Because if he actually admits to that, it will hurt so much. But what if it's also all in my head? If I act and then he cleanly tells me he doesn't think of me that way, I think it'll hurt worse than anything I've experienced yet, because a little part of me is hoping so badly, I would be crushed if he rejected me." Naruto admitted. Karin blinked at him for a moment before she grabbed him and pulled him against her.

 

"I'm sorry, Naruto. It's alright, I've got you." Karin whispered in his ear. Naruto relaxed. Because maybe he needed to have someone listen and tell him these things all his life. This entire time, he had been just fighting by himself, making sure to not cause any trouble for the Uchihas, keeping his identity, life and his feelings a secret from practically everyone he knew. Naruto felt like the world had been taken off his shoulders when Nagato and Karin hugged him that night.

 

"Fuu is going to help Yuko get everyone something to eat. Do Naruto or Sasuke kun have any hated foods?" Yahiko asked.

 

"No, I'll be fine with anything." Naruto answered back. Sasuke called affirmative as well from where he was standing with Nagato. Naruto frowned. He wanted to know what Sasuke and Nagato were talking about. He knew Nagato wouldn't say anything stupid and he knew Sasuke respected Nagato enough to answer anything Nagato asked as honestly as possible.

 

"I want to know too, kiddo. I want to know too." Karin patted his back. "Just ask Nagato later, OK?" Naruto nodded.

 

The rest of the day passed by relatively fun. Naruto was by Karin, giving her chakra every now and then. They talked about a lot of things. Naruto finally cried a little over the loss of his aunt, they talked about how things changed in Konoha. Karin had known Neji, Lee and Tenten and couple of others since they had been her age, so she asked about them and how they were doing. Naruto was interested in listening to her talk about how they managed to unite and protect every village in their country. It was such a secretive country, but that was mostly because they were trying to avoid wars and conflicts while they were building the country anew. Now that things were at peace, they were starting to reopen the country. Naruto had heard rumours about how stable the country was compared to some of the most thriving countries. Naruto told Karin about his aspirations of becoming Hokage and how his view of how a Hokage changed over the years.

 

"Now, I really want to protect Konoha. My family there is so important to me." Naruto explained.

 

"I can see that." Karin said with a soft smile. "Hey Naruto, don't be afraid to talk to them. The Uchihas, I mean. Because honesty is the first step to building a relationship. Not telling them something is the same as lying to them. Even if you don't tell them, they will sense that something is wrong and feel uncomfortable about that. The same goes for Sasuke kun. You cannot move forward if you don't tell him these things, Naruto. It's hard, I know. But from where I stand, it almost seems like you're not even trying to fix your relationship. Both of you need trust, and trust isn't built on silence and lies. So, don't be afraid to talk to him. I know it'll take time to gather up that courage. But you need to stop thinking about how you'll avoid him and start thinking about how you'll face him. Do you understand?" Karin put her hand over his. Naruto sucked in a sharp breath. The worst part was that, he did understand. Naruto nodded in response to her, unsure of what to say.

 

"Naruto and Sasuke, you two can head down for the rest of the evening." Nagato called. "I think Itachi san will feel more comfortable that way. Fuu will update you guys on anything you need to know."

 

"Go and rest." Karin patted his head with a fond smile. Naruto stood up and walked over to Nagato. Yahiko pulled Sasuke away with Konan to discuss something about the barrier. Nagato grinned at Naruto and ruffled his hair.

 

"You haven't got a thing to worry about. I approve of Sasuke." Nagato said reassuringly. Naruto's eyes widened.

 

"What do you mean? What did you guys talk about, Nagato nii-" Naruto began breathlessly.

 

"Oi, dobe. Let's go." Sasuke called flatly. Naruto turned. Sasuke was waiting for him at the edge if the roof. Naruto looked at Nagato again and Nagato just gently pushed him in the direction of Sasuke. Naruto hurried over to Sasuke's side and then the both of them went into the building, careful to avoid being spotted by other attendees of the meeting. Sasuke wasn't looking at him. Naruto bit his lip. Should he say something? Maybe he could clear away the tension, pretend like the incident in the closet had never happened.

 

"Wasn't today's fried rice a little too sweet for your tastes, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as they entered their room. Sasuke turned to look at him for a moment before he opened his pouch and started to go through his things.

 

"Yeah, but I'm not childish enough to complain when I said I had no hated foods earlier." Sasuke shrugged before silently sorting his kunais and shurikens. Naruto awkwardly sat down on his bed before deciding to check his things as well. Sasuke picked up his sword and started to clean and polish it. Naruto had watched him do it every day and sometimes Naruto would do it himself. But no matter how many times Naruto had seen Sasuke do it, he couldn't help but think Sasuke looked elegant. Naruto turned to his own things and carefully checked if any of his scrolls were damaged. Maybe Naruto could try and ask what Sasuke talked to Nagato about. Naruto turned to Sasuke and the room door opened.

 

"Ah, here you guys are. How was the watch? Did anything happen?" Itachi asked.

 

"They've located the enemy," Sasuke explained as Sai walked in behind Itachi. "But other than that, nothing. It was hard enough to sense it because of the forest's special abilities. It seems Uzumaki Karin is the strongest sensor in the world if she can sense the enemy in a place like that." Sasuke put his sword down. "The enemy hasn't moved, so they're going to be up on the roof all night again. Fuu of Takigakure will update us when needed. How was your day, niisan?" Sasuke asked.

 

"It was a pain. It took me, Sai and the Sunagakure group fifteen minutes to convince the others that just because we were presiding over the meeting didn't mean we were Amegakure's favourite. Luckily, Utakata made everyone shut up and listen to the situation first." Itachi shook his head with a sigh of exhaustion.

 

“Utakata will be a good Mizukage,” Naruto commented, getting up and reaching for his jounin vest which he had shed earlier. He frowned, something was off. Yeah they had agreed to run a check on everyone the next day. But still something was off. Naruto felt like he had been lulled into a false sense of comfort since he had his older cousins with him. He needed to use his own head too. Not to mention, what he felt in the forest had definitely seemed familiar. And if it was familiar...what if it was after him instead. Naruto had started being attacked only recently and those attacks had to mean something.

 

“Naruto are you OK?” Itachi’s voice asked. Naruto turned to look at him in question. “You’ve kind of have been standing there and dusting off your vest for a while now. What’s on your mind?” Itachi, Sai and Sasuke were looking at him.

 

“Huh, oh nothing...it’s just that these recent events have given me a lot to think about. I haven’t had the time to properly process anything.” Naruto shrugged.

 

“Well you do seem to have a lot on your plate. And you usually meditate a lot, don’t you?” Sai tilted his head, giving Naruto that expressionless look.

 

“You’re right. When learning how to control natural energy and use my sage mode, I was taught that clearing my mind is extremely important for any situation.” Naruto made a face. “But meditating in here in no good.”

 

“How about tomorrow, you ask Nagato san if you can meditate in the training area with Sasuke as your guard?” Itachi questioned. “As far as we know, the threat can’t get in so easily and so fast, right?” 

 

Naruto brightened.

 

“You know what? I’ll do just that.”

 

\------o------

 

“OK, we know that you’re just going out to meditate, but you can’t forget everything Nagato and Karin told you, clear?” Itachi said with a frown. “Repeat everything they said.”

 

Naruto rolled his eyes. The day hadn’t been much different from the day before. The Amegakure group had spent the day on the roof, keeping watch and Itachi had presided over the meeting, only Naruto and Sasuke were in the meeting as well. It had been mostly updates from Nagato and other countries on the situation, how the Kage meet went and Nagato’s plan on addressing the threat. Now it was afternoon and everyone had been dismissed. Naruto had asked Nagato if he could meditate at the training grounds and after a huge fuss, Nagato had agreed, conditions applied. He had to keep Sasuke with him on guard and if his chakra spiked even a little bit they would take it as a threat. 

 

Naruto dutifully recited what Nagato and Karin had said and then Sasuke and him went down to the training grounds. Naruto found the best tree stump and sat on it. Sasuke stood a little farther away from him, so as to not disturb Naruto while he was meditating. Naruto sucked in a sharp breath and then closed his eyes, clearing his mind and all his thoughts. He first went into Sage Mode and observed all the Natural Energy around him. He sensed everyone around him, especially Sasuke since he was so close. Then he noticed an unfamiliar person approaching. Leisurely, Naruto activated his Kyuubi mode as well.

 

Something dark and sinister was approaching.

 

Naruto’s eyes snapped open and he spun around.

 

“Sasuke, watch out!” Naruto shouted. Sasuke turned, his kunai out in a flash. Both of their eyes widened as they recognized the man who had ruined their lives. The horror Naruto felt in the pit of his stomach rendered him motionless. Sasuke was frozen as well, his face white. The man grinned and ran at Naruto. Instantly Sasuke moved, ready to go for the kill. But at that same time, Naruto recognized the chakra of the person within. “Sasuke no! It’s Yahiko san!” Naruto cried out. The millisecond Naruto’s words registered to Sasuke, Sasuke changed direction and threw himself in front of Naruto. Naruto heard the soft  _ thump _ of a kunai burying itself in Sasuke’s body. “Sasuke?” Naruto pulled Sasuke into his arms as Sasuke spat out blood.

 

“He got a vital…” Sasuke wheezed.

 

“Wait, wait. I-I can’t, I don’t have the Uzumaki healing properties.” Naruto was panicking and not thinking straight. He was terrified. His brain simply was not processing things. What was happening? He felt a kunai against his neck.

 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Sasuke kun, Naruto kun?” the smooth voice that haunted Naruto’s dreams asked. Naruto growled and jumped away, still holding Sasuke. Kurama started to instantly heal the cut on his neck. Naruto couldn’t attack him so long as he knew that Yahiko was inside because of the shape-shifting technique. How had they even gotten to Yahiko? 

 

Itachi, Sai, Nagato, Karin and Konan ran out of the building.

 

“Sasuke!” Itachi ran at the man.

 

“No! Itachi niisan! That’s Yahiko san!” Naruto yelled. Nagato wasted no time and neither did the rest of them.

 

“Konan! Sai!” Konan and Sai instantly moved forward to restrain Itachi. Nagato used his magnetic force and pulled the man towards him. “Karin!” Karin rushed towards Naruto and Sasuke as Nagato started to suck up the chakra used for the shape-shifting technique.

 

“This was just a greeting to my two favorite brats.” The man sneered before the chakra was completely sucked away leaving just Yahiko who was passed out. Karin knelt next to Naruto and Sasuke and rolled up one of her sleeves, revealing numerous bite marks. 

 

“Sasuke kun, bite here, now.” Karin ordered. Sasuke raised his head and bit into Karin. Naruto watched, feeling sick in the pit of his stomach as he watched Sasuke suck chakra out of his already worn out cousin. Nagato walked over as they helped Sasuke up. Itachi who was a little miffed at having been restrained by Konan and Sai came over.

 

“Are you OK? How are you feeling?” Nagato asked Sasuke, supporting the unconscious Yahiko.

 

“I feel fine. But that man...I have se-” Sasuke started blearily when he suddenly cut himself off and glanced at Naruto with something close to panic in his eyes. “Are  _ you  _ OK?” Sasuke asked Naruto. Naruto blinked.

 

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine...Kurama is healing me right now.” Naruto said pointing at the cut that was slowly closing on his neck. Sasuke grabbed his chin with one hand and pulled Naruto forward, a strange look on his face.

 

“It doesn’t seem to be poisoned.” He observed. Naruto was internally flailing and freaking out. Sasuke let go of Naruto seemingly satisfied. Karin was giving Naruto a look. Naruto prayed him face wasn’t scarlet. “Oh…” Sasuke said softly. All of them turned to look down at what he was looking at. It was Kyodo’s necklace. Naruto clenched his fists, his heart rate increasing and blood rushing in his ears.

 

The truth was out.

 

“I…” Naruto swallowed, suddenly terrified beyond belief. “I remember everything Sasuke...Nagato nii undid the seal...and…” Naruto hung his head and looked down at the way his hands had bunched up his bright orange pants. “I’m sorry…” hot tears rolled down his face and hit his hands. His entire head was heating up. “I’m so sorry...I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I did. Because of me, your brother-”

 

Sasuke grabbed his collar and yanked him forward, an indescribable look on his face.

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sasuke hissed. Naruto almost choked on his tears.

 

“I’m so sorry, Sasuke! If it wasn’t for me, your brother, he would still be-” Naruto started to full on sob.

 

“Shut up! Just shut up! You have no idea what you’re saying you damn fool!” Sasuke snarled. Naruto hiccuped, trying to stop himself from wailing. Sasuke’s grip on his collar tightened and he looked down. “The one who is at fault here is me! Goddamn you! I killed your family, my brother! Stop blaming yourself, you idiot! It’s all my fault! I should have been able to protect you!” Naruto stared as he heard Sasuke’s wobbling voice. “It’s all my fault, I thought I didn’t even deserve to be near you! Why do you always have to be so forgiving and kind and try to look past all of that, you dobe!” Sasuke was crying. Naruto instantly moved forward and cupped Sasuke’s face, lifting it.

 

“No, no, no! It’s not your fault! It’s not! I swear! It was my stupidity! I never should have left the Uzumaki compound!” Naruto tried to explain.

 

“Are you saying we wished we had never met?” Sasuke asked.

 

Naruto shook his head frantically.

 

“No, of course not. Just...Sasuke, I swear to God, what happened that day was not your fault.” Naruto said gently. Sasuke let out a chuckle through his tears.

 

“And it wasn’t your fault either, you usuratonakachi.” Sasuke whispered. “It was all that hateful man, OK?” Sasuke bumped his forehead against Naruto’s. Naruto, closed his eyes, swallowing past the lump in his throat. Slowly he nodded. “Good.” Sasuke said softly. Both of them stayed that way till they stopped crying.

 

“So…” Itachi spoke up. Naruto and Sasuke jumped. They had forgotten where they were. “Will you guys please explain what on earth is going on?” He raised an eyebrow and gestured at the mess that Naruto and Sasuke were.

 

“T-that is-” Naruto stuttered.

 

“I think, I’ll explain to you, Itachi san. But first, let us move somewhere safer.” Nagato, motioned for them to move inside. Naruto helped Karin in. She was completely exhausted. Sasuke was supported by Itachi. The different groups had all started to stream towards the building exit to see what was going on. “I will address all of you. Please gather in the meeting room. Naruto, Sasuke, Karin take some rest. Please take Yahiko with you.” Nagato passed his boyfriend to Naruto and the four of them continued to head to the rooms. 

 

“Let’s go to our room.” Karin said with a weak smile.

 

Naruto and Sasuke couldn’t even think of arguing, they followed Karin to the Amegakure group room and then settled on the beds.

 

“Get some rest, we’ll be safe.” Karin assured them and falling back onto the bed. Naruto slowly sank into the bed, surprised at how exhausted he felt as the tension left his body. He wasn’t sure whether he should look at Sasuke or not. He was so used to dealing with a Sasuke he was unsure of, but now, everything had been laid bare.

 

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. So Sasuke hadn’t been blaming him after he unsealed his memories. The reason for his distance and coldness was because he was too scared to face Naruto since he thought he had killed Naruto’s family. Then did that mean, Naruto had seen the real Sasuke at last?

 

But had their problems really been solved. It hadn’t been that long since Naruto had unsealed Sasuke’s memories. Sasuke had been cold and cruel even before Naruto had unsealed his memories. For what exact reason had Sasuke resented Naruto that the unsealing of his memories could make him treat Naruto with the same affection he had treated Naruto with years ago?

 

Sasuke was silent. Naruto wondered what was going on through Sasuke’s head. Sasuke had changed over the years. He was no longer that little child Naruto had once become friends with. They had been through too much for them to be the same people they once were. And because they had changed, Naruto couldn’t even attempt to guess what Sasuke was thinking. Did Sasuke know what he was thinking? Or was he as confused?

 

Naruto sighed.

 

It was so much easier when he was a child, Sasuke was easier to decipher.

 

Naruto started his eyes snapping open.

 

_ Now wait a moment… _ Naruto realized.  _ I’ve always been in love with Sasuke...but not the Sasuke in front of me. I was in love with a Sasuke long gone. I don’t know anything about this Sasuke. Nothing at all. I have been subconsciously shoving an image of a different Sasuke on the Sasuke in front of me all this time. This means...I’m not actually in love with Sasuke...I’m in love with a memory of Sasuke… _

 

Naruto bit his lip.

 

_ Where do I go after this? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the wait, really. I was crappy to you guys, but it took me longer to get used to the pace and write Fireworks again after the long gap. So, all of you have been waiting a while to see this kind of development, but there is so much to clear in their relationship! Let's not forget the amount of danger approaching them!


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto woke up with a start when Konan gently shook him awake. It was still dark out. Sai was helping Karin sit up, Nagato was giving a rather disoriented Sasuke a glass of water and Itachi was leaning against the door, talking to Yahiko in hushed tones. Naruto's stomach lurched. Itachi probably knew everything about the Uzumaki massacre, Nagato had agreed to tell him after all.

"How are you feeling?" It took Naruto a moment to realize Sasuke was directing the question at him.

"Uh...I'm fine...I guess..." Naruto awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "How are you feeling, Sasuke?"

"I haven't slept so well in years." Sasuke chuckled comfortably. Naruto cracked a small smile. Sasuke was talking to him just like they were the kids they were years ago.

So would they just go back to being the friends that they were years ago? There were so many issues with that. Could they just brush aside what had been going on for the past few years after the massacre and continue on? That wasn't possible. Naruto knew there were things they would have to talk through. It was still very unrealistic for him to be able to talk to Sasuke without trying to find an answer that wouldn't make him angry.

Could they go back to being friends? Naruto's startling realization that he wasn't in love with the Sasuke in front of him had upset the balance he had been living with. No matter how much he understood he wasn't in love with the current Uchiha Sasuke, he had still been extremely attracted to him and things couldn't change so easily. Moreover, they were still engaged.

"Naruto," Naruto flinched when he heard Itachi's voice. Itachi walked up to him. "I heard everything from Nagato san." He raised his hand and Naruto squeezed his eyes shut waiting for a blow when he felt the hand settle comfortingly on his hair. "It's not your fault, OK? It never was your fault and it never will be your fault. Don't forget that, alright?"

Naruto wasn't surprised to find himself crying.

"It wasn't your fault either, Sasuke." Itachi turned to Sasuke who had a pained look on his face. "Now let's get this awful topic out of our minds, we aren't going to speak or think about it, alright?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke nodded.

"Hora, Naruto, don't cry. You're a man aren't you?" Nagato teased. Karin giggled and crawled onto Naruto's bed to wipe his face with her sleeve.

"Are we expected to move to our room?" Naruto asked.

"No, actually we're starting an emergency meeting. The Five Kage Meet has sent in the verdict. We need to discuss things immediately. Everyone should already be gathering in meeting room. Shall we go?" Nagato glanced at all of them.

"Just let me wash my face." Naruto said. Sasuke and Karin seconded that. Once they had washed their faces they headed to the meeting room. Most of the members were already there and Suigetsu was falling asleep in his seat, drool coming out of his mouth. As soon as everyone had settled Nagato started speaking.

"Thank you all for arriving here on such short notice. This emergency meeting was called because we have just received the Five Kage Meeting verdict and need to share it with all of you." Everyone sat up straight in interest. "But before that, we will let you all know what happened this afternoon. Naruto, Sasuke kun, which one of you would like to narrate what happened?" Nagato asked. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other.

"I'd like to inform everyone on what happened today." Naruto got to his feet. He had no reason to be afraid anymore. If his cousins and Itachi and Sasuke didn't blame him, he had nothing to fear. "I was meditating in the training field with permission, with my guard, Sasuke. I noticed an unfamiliar person approaching us so I slipped into Kyuubi mode and noticed the blood lust coming towards us so I warned Sasuke, but then I also realized underneath the shape-shifting jutsu was Yahiko san. Neither of us wanted to hurt Yahiko san and he was the same man who took down the Uzumaki clan. The trauma of seeing him made us stop moving. He managed to get a vital point on Sasuke. Luckily, Nagato san, Karin san, Konan san and my guards Sai and Itachi arrived on the scene. Using his ability to absorb jutsu Nagato san absorbed the shapeshifting jutsu and left Yahiko san unharmed and Karin san healed Sasuke. Before the man disappeared he told us that this was just a greeting." Naruto finished and then took his seat.

"Any questions?" Nagato asked. Five hands shot up. "Yes, Haku?"

"You said 'trauma of seeing him', does that mean you've met him before?" The pretty boy looked genuinely curious. Two other hands went down.

"Yes I have. I was apart of the Uzumaki massacre after all." Naruto said quietly

"Temari san?" Nagato turned to the wind user.

"How was Yahiko san targeted? Shouldn't it have been very difficult to get into this place at all?" Temari asked.

"We are still investigating that. We are not sure how they're doing it, but we are assuming they can store chakra in an object and it will complete the jutsu on touch or when the jutsu caster wants. It seems like a mix of the Uzumaki, Uchiha and Rinnegan techniques. We still have a lot we don't understand. We'll have Naruto check everything in his Kyuubi Sage Mode to make sure that we all are in the clear." Nagato explained. "Now, Deidara?"

"Are the Kage aware of this situation?" Deidara furrowed his eyebrows together.

"We have been sending messages everyday and we sent another message a couple of hours ago. It will take a while for it to reach them though, I assume." Nagato answered Deidara's question. "Moving on to the main topic. The Five Kage meet has met a unanimous decision. We are going to war against Shijima no Kuni." Murmurs of surprise broke out. "All of you have been ordered to return to your countries immediately. Since you all are the main target for this war, we have the forest filled to the brim with Amegakure's best taijutsu users to ensure your safe travel out of the forest. Your paths to your countries are guarded by jounin level ninjas and your country's ANBU to make sure you are not harmed on your way back." Naruto felt fear fill him. He would be separated from his cousins again. He had to go back to Konoha and his cousins were important people in Amegakure. "Konoha's undercover spies should give us more information. They too have been ordered to return to Konoha." Naruto's eyes widened. He meant Mikoto, Fugaku and Shisui. Naruto heard Itachi's breath hitch in his throat and then turned. If he hadn't known Itachi always wore a mask no matter the time, situation or circumstances then he could've sworn he saw fear on Itachi's face. "Naruto, could you please check the entire building for anything out of the ordinary?" Nagato turned back to Naruto.

"Yeah, I can do that." Naruto got out of his seat and sat down on the floor. Everyone either got out of their seats, stood on their chairs, or looked under the table to continue looking at him. Naruto closed his eyes and emptied himself, slowly controlling his breathing. Once he was able to sense everyone's natural energy he eased himself into Kyuubi mode. He spread his conscious around the entire building checking for anything out of the norm. Everything was fine. Nothing seemed threatening at all. Naruto opened his eyes. "Everything is fine. I guess what happened in the afternoon really was a greeting." Naruto got up and dusted himself off.

"Thank you Naruto. Well then, thank you all for attending the Kage Candidate meet. It was a pleasure to have you all here and all of you must have made very important connections in this meeting." Nagato and the Amegakure group bowed. "Well then, all of you should be leaving as soon as possible. I suggest all of you prepare and then we will see all of you off."

Naruto watched all of the members slowly file out, talking about the the upcoming war and the like. He was scared of stepping out of the meeting room door and never seeing his cousins again. Sasuke, Sai and Itachi stood behind him waiting for him to make his move.

"Naruto," Karin was standing in front of him the next moment, a gentle smile on her face. "You should get ready to go." She took his hand. "It'll be OK, Nagato and I will see you off and we'll see you soon again. Once all of this has calmed down, Nagato and I will visit you until you're sick of us...OK?"

Naruto duly nodded.

"Go on then. We'll wrap up things here and then see you off." Karin let go of his hand and went back to Nagato's side. Naruto sucked in a large lungful of air and then exhaled.

"Let's go." Naruto said and then he and his group returned back to their temporary room that had given Naruto all kinds of memories. Packing didn't take too long. It hadn't been a long trip and since they had packed like ninjas there weren't many things they had. Once they were packed they went out of the building and saw all the groups gathered and saying goodbye to each other. Nagato and the Amegakure group were shaking hands with others and smiling widely when they waved.

"Oi, Naruto!" Temari yelled. Naruto turned and saw the Sunagakure group heading towards them. Temari pushed a book into his hand. "I had Sasori copy down that entire book that we were looking at the other day. Here's a copy for you." Naruto's eyes sparkled.

"Wow! Thanks, Temari!" Naruto beamed.

"How are the two of you feeling?" Gaara asked Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto grinned.

"We're both fine." Sasuke was the one who answered.

"That's good." Kankurou smiled.

"Hey! Orange kid!" All of them cringed at the loud but familiar voice. Deidara was jogging over to them. Kurotsuchi was yelling at him. Deidara bumped his fist into Naruto's shoulder. "You're pretty cool, un. I'll see you around when I become Tsuchikage, un." He grinned widely at him and then ran back to Kurotsuchi yelling back at her.

"That was a rather unexpected new friend, but good enough." Naruto chuckled. Naruto said goodbye to the rest of the Kage candidates and then Gaara's company had to leave.

"See you soon, Naruto." Gaara, clapped Naruto on the shoulder and they were off. Naruto turned to look at the Amegakure group and Fuu.

"What is Fuu going to do?" Sai asked first.

"She'll be with us until the war is over. It's too dangerous for her to travel alone." Konan explained.

"You're going, huh?" Nagato smiled at him. Naruto nodded unhappily. "You'll be fine. And we'll see each other very soon too! We're not going anywhere, Naruto. We're still alive and we're here. We're very upset about letting you out of our sight again too, but there are things we have to do, right?" Nagato tilted his head to catch Naruto's eye. "Who is the candidate for the next Hokage?" Nagato asked with a knowing grin. Naruto grinned even though he still felt down.

"Me." Naruto laughed.

"That's right. Well then, off you go." Nagato hugged Naruto briefly. Karin grabbed his arm, pulled him down and then kissed his cheek.

"See you soon, Naruto." Karin said. Naruto nodded and turned to his guard who were waiting patiently for him.

"See you guys soon, Neechan, Niichan, Konan san, Yahiko san and Fuu!" Naruto waved and then allowed himself to walk into the thick forest. He felt a damper on his chakra instantly. Sasuke put his hand on his sword and the four of them set out.

\------o------

The run back to Konoha was uneventful. They ran nonstop, only taking short breaks to rest and eat. They constantly felt the presence of Konoha ANBU around the area making sure they got through safely. The sun was well in the sky when they arrived at the Konoha gates. Sakura and Ino were by the gates waiting for them.

"Naruto, Sasuke kun, Sai, Itachi san! Welcome back! How was the meeting?" Sakura called the moment she spotted them.

"Sakura chan!" Naruto yelled happily. "It was good! A lot of things happened and I met a lot of people and I found some people!" Naruto dashed over to her. She laughed when he tripped on the slight elevation of ground that led to the gate. He stumbled back to his feet and he ran over to her and grabbed her hands, startling her. "I met two of my cousins, Sakura chan. They were alive." Naruto grinned giddily. Her eyes widened and then she was grinning with him.

"That's great! You'll have to tell me everything that happened over dinner tonight! Tomorrow we're going to start preparing for war so we won't have the time." Sakura bounced excitedly. "That's really great, Naruto, your cousins are alive! That's really great!"

"Before you guys start yammering away, we really could use some rest and we need to clean up." Sasuke's tired voice said.

"Yikes." Sakura whispered. "Looks like we pissed off the wrong guy, sorry, Naruto."

"You coming?" Sasuke turned to look at Naruto. There was no venom in his voice, no anger, just plain exhausted Sasuke. Naruto felt a shiver of excitement. That was right. They were on much better terms. In fact, if Naruto had say in it, they were on great terms. Sasuke wasn't going to treat him extra coldly in front of others, he wasn't going to ignore Naruto's existence.

They weren't quite friends, but they weren't enemies either.

"I'm coming!" Naruto turned to a surprised Sakura and Ino. "I'm going then. I'll see you guys at Ichiraku for dinner!" Naruto waved at them happily and then ran after Itachi, Sasuke and Sai. They went to the Hokage's Office first to report in.

"I'm glad to see you all made it back just fine. I got the message that was sent about what happened to you and Sasuke, Naruto. Can I expect a full report on what happened in the meeting by tomorrow morning? For now you guys can go rest." Kakashi told all of them. Just as they were about to leave, Kakashi called Naruto's name. "So I'm assuming I don't have to put ANBU on you?" He was giving Naruto a knowing look. Naruto's grin widened even more.

"Yeah, my cousins took care of that!" Naruto said. Kakashi nodded.

"Alright, give me a report on what you discovered in your memories if you deem them important." Kakashi waved them off.

"Where are you three going to go?" Sai asked them.

"For starters? We need baths and sleep." Itachi spoke up. "Then we'll decide what to do."

"Do you plan on coming for dinner at Ichiraku?" Naruto asked Sai. "I'm paying."

"I'll come." Sai nodded.

"Well, I won't be. I have things I need to do and anyway, Shisui asked me to take care of a couple of things before he left." Itachi shrugged. "Come on, we enjoyed our trip and now the real work starts."

Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi walked home and Naruto almost fell over when Sasuke asked him why he was taking a different path. Walking down the normal path to the compound listening to Itachi rattle on about the new weapons he was planning to buy and Sasuke adding in his own opinion here and there felt surreal to Naruto.

"I claim the bath first!" Itachi yelled, the moment they entered the house. Naruto and Sasuke watched Itachi run into the house, messily dropping his shoes by the door. Naruto shook his head and then straightened out his shoes.

"Do you want me to clean up your things?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, holding out his hands.

"How about we clean this stuff up together? Things will finish up quickly that way." Sasuke tilted his head at Naruto. Naruto blinked blankly at Sasuke and then he started laughing. Sasuke frowned. "Why are you laughing?"

"Oh no, don't mind me. It's just funny for some reason." Naruto cackled away. It hadn't been so long ago, Naruto hadn't meant anything to Sasuke at all. Dumping all his things on Naruto was how things used to work. Uchiha Sasuke suggesting doing anything with Naruto at all was just too surprising for Naruto. Sasuke always avoided anything associated with dealing with Naruto. Naruto knew that this was one of the things they would have to talk about eventually. Things just couldn't suddenly change without an explanation. But for now, it just made Naruto laugh.

"Hey." Sasuke snapped unhappily. "Could you stop laughing at me?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Naruto raised his hand in apology but he didn't stop laughing.

"You're not sorry at all!" Sasuke hissed. "Oi!"

"Alright," Naruto stifled his laughter. "Let's go clean up."

Cleaning was light hearted and they talked about people from the Kage Candidate meeting and the things they learned there. Naruto went for his bath after Itachi because Itachi wanted to try and make snacks with Sasuke. Naruto warned the two of them not to destroy the kitchen and then went for his bath. After eating Itachi and Sasuke's good, but slightly burnt taiyaki all of them returned to their rooms to sleep for a while.

Naruto woke up just in time to get ready for dinner. Sasuke was outside polishing his sword to perfection as if he hadn't done that as soon as he had come back.

"You're ready?" Sasuke asked, looking up at Naruto briefly and then lowered his eyes back to his sword. Naruto resisted the urge to weave his fingers together like a little nervous girl. It was awkward. Now that the high of the Kage Candidate Meet had come down and they had rested up and were clear minded, it was awkward. They were surrounded by the same sight and atmosphere as always and it seemed strange that they should have changed at all. For half of his life, Naruto had lived in this very house with a Sasuke that seemed to despise him. To suddenly change that in a place that seemed like the walls had witnessed everything seemed awkward.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Naruto breathed, shoving his itching hands unceremoniously into his pockets. Sasuke got up from his seat and sheathed his sword.

"Well then, let's go." It was easy to fall into step behind Sasuke, it was less easy to fall into step next to him. This Sasuke definitely wanted him to walk beside him. Naruto dug his fingers into his clothed stomach from within his pockets and hurried to join Sasuke. Walking next to Sasuke, behaving like both he and Sasuke saw each other as equals was a facade Naruto usually had to put on all the time, but not this time. This time it wasn't a facade. Things had changed for what Naruto believed was for the better, but to take the first step from there was a terrifying thing to think of.

It was quiet. Far too quiet and Naruto could feel the silence and invisible tension fill in the space between them. Naruto knew it wasn't how things were supposed to be. He tried to work his jaw, tried to find something to say, anything at all.

"You know where I practice everyday in the evening, right?" Sasuke asked. Naruto gaped silently for a second, almost forgetting how to use his voice.

"Yes, I do know." Naruto replied.

"Good, come join me for practice tomorrow." Sasuke nodded firmly, seeming satisfied with himself. Then he seemed to realize he missed something. "If you're free and have the time." Sasuke added, looking nervous. Naruto forced himself to breath evenly.

"I should be free...but can I ask why?" Naruto asked just as Ichiraku and Sai and Sakura came into sight.

"I think we both know that there are things we need to talk about." Sasuke shrugged and then raised his hand to greet Sai and Sakura who were waving at them to get their attention. Naruto halted and Sasuke walked ahead of him to answer Sakura's question as to what he wanted to order. So Naruto hadn't been the only one to think they had unfinished business to discuss. Uncovering their past and all that had been awfully nice, but they lived in the present and they had things to resolve.

"Naruto tell me what happened at the Kage Candidate Meet." Sakura said once their ramen had been put in front of them. So Naruto told her, everything from the start and till the end, just skipping out the parts like him getting stuck in the closet with Sasuke. Naruto still didn't know what to make of that. Talking about the Uzumaki massacre was painful, but Sakura's warm and concerned face made him remember, he had people in front of him who wouldn't hold back their love for him.

"And so we were ordered to return." Naruto finished.

"That sounds...overwhelming..." Sakura said quietly, looking stunned. "Is it OK to tell me these things? Isn't it like top secret information...I mean are you and...Sasuke kun OK with talking about the massacre?" Sakura whispered.

"It's fine, we're no longer afraid." Sasuke shrugged. Sakura turned to look at him. She contemplated things for a bit.

"But who would've thought you two knew each other so well as kids and were such great friends! Is that why you two have been on such great terms?" Sakura asked, looking back and forth at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sort of," Sasuke answered vaguely. Naruto understood why Sasuke answered like that. Naruto didn't know how to explain how years of discord could be solved just by knowing that they knew each other when they were younger.

"Ah! There he is! Naruto! You had better tell me what happened at the meeting! Did you meet Nii Yugito?" Kiba shouted from halfway down the street on spotting Naruto.

"Oh no, here they come." Sakura sighed as they all watched Kiba's shout draw in a lot more people eager to see Naruto. As Naruto started to get crowded by other people with frantic questions, he noticed Sakura get out of her seat, walk over Sasuke and whisper in his ear. Sasuke stared at her blankly for a bit before he nodded.

\------o------

Sakura looked up when Sasuke slid into the seat across from her. The night before, their dinner was finished extremely late after they managed to get rid of everyone trying to get Naruto's attention. Sakura had arranged to meet Sasuke for breakfast and to dig out a couple of answers she wanted. She assumed that Naruto and Sasuke revealing something like everything that happened in the meeting and the truth to the Uzumaki massacre meant they no longer had any secrets to hide from her.

"You're late," Sakura observed good naturedly.

"I was submitting a report to Kakashi Sensei. You know how he likes to keep the lot of us former students behind to peer into the deep dark crevices of our soul and the like." Sasuke muttered.

"Ah, yes, indeed. Well, how about we order and then we can start discussing what I wanted to talk about." Sakura suggested. Sasuke nodded. Sakura raised her hand and they ordered. While they waited for their breakfast to come they talked about lighter topics like what Sakura had been doing for the past one week and the jutsus Sasuke had been interested in at the meeting.

"So what is it that you want to know?" Sasuke asked once they had gotten their food. Sakura eyed him.

"Can you answer my questions honestly, Sasuke kun?" Sakura questioned seriously. Sasuke glanced up from his food and at her. He seemed to understand what she was trying to get at.

"I will. Naruto might not like me answering everything, but I think you deserve to know whatever it is you want to know." Sasuke answered. Sakura nodded. So she was right, there was more to Sasuke and Naruto's relationship than any of them had thought at first.

"OK, first, what is your official relationship with Naruto?" Sakura started off with what she determined an opening question.

"We're engaged, as Prince of the Uzumaki Clan and Prince of the Uchiha Clan." Sasuke answered without hesitation. Sakura sucked in a sharp breath. She had not been expecting that at all. "It's actually still a secret because Naruto being one of the last Uzumaki and all and well, younger me refusing to associate myself with Naruto." Sasuke explained. This revelation had brought all kinds of new questions to her mind.

"Sasuke kun, where does Naruto live?" Sakura wanted to know. She had wanted to know for years. She wanted to wait outside his room window gifts early in the morning on his birthday the way she did for Ino, Hinata, Sai and Lee. She wanted to come over and help him out when he got sick and give him side dishes that her mom made.

"My house," Sasuke shrugged and looked away. "My mom was his mom's best friend. His mom wanted him to stay with my family and my mom kept pushing to have him brought home but the elders didn't allow it until Tsunade sama became Hokage and she yelled at the elders to let Naruto come to my house."

Sakura's jaw dropped as all the dots started to connect. She stared down at her breakfast thinking hard about the next question she would ask. A lot of things had been on her mind but they were starting to get cleared up one by one.

"Why did you hate Naruto and treat him that way for so long Sasuke? Naruto never hated you." Sakura asked quietly. Sasuke sighed and then lowered his head.

"I won't make excuses for the way I've treated him...but although I couldn't remember Naruto, I think I had an idea of how Naruto was, I think I subconsciously knew how the Uzumaki clan fell. I was scared. Seeing Naruto scared me because I felt like I had ruined his life. I was disappointed in him because I wanted him to be stronger so something big like that would never hurt him ever again. I couldn't let him near me because he would be in danger, because I was scared of him. When we hit fifteen, I started getting irritated with how friendly he was with everyone else. Then he accidentally unsealed my memories and that fear of him coming near me because I kill his family increased even more." Sasuke wasn't looking at her or his food. "I know that's not excuse for what I've done to him, really, but that's the truth."

Sakura stared at her friend who suddenly seemed far more insecure and small than she had realized.

"You're kind of messed up, Sasuke." Sakura smiled softly. This was a boy who had been trying to hide years of insecurities and emotions and it had it piled up and twisted him in ways he didn't like. And now that things were starting to unravel and he was starting to open up, Sakura could see how uncertain and scared he was.

"Well, who wouldn't be, if they were me?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded.

"Neh, Sasuke kun?" Sakura asked, in an attempt to get him to look at her. She was about to ask her last question and she wanted to see his face and eyes when he answered. He slowly turned to look at her.

"Yeah?" Sasuke weaved his fingers together.

"Are you in love with Naruto?" Sakura asked, her tone gentle and warm. Sasuke looked startled and his eyes darted away. There was a moment of silence before Sasuke inhaled loudly and then nodded.

"Yeah, I'm in love with Naruto." Sasuke whispered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating this soon enough for you guys. I don't know why it takes so long for me to write this, honestly. It would be really great if I could pick up my pace again, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Well, we'll see how things go from here on out. Anyway, we're slowly starting to see the light for Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. They still have a lot of things to sort out and fall in love with each other and love each other properly this time! Hope you'll wait patiently for the next chapter!


	16. Chapter 16

It was just after lunch that Naruto managed to escape the clutches of Kiba, Lee and Ino, demanding to know what happened during the meeting. He hadn't seen Sasuke since waking up in the morning and he hadn't seen Itachi since the day before. He had caught a glimpse of Sai talking in serious undertones with Asuma before he had been dragged into a sushi restaurant with Kiba. The entire town was getting ready for the war and here Naruto was trying to run away from over excited friends. He hadn't been called in to do anything and he had only seen Kakashi when he had submitted his report in the morning. It frustrated him. Wasn't he one of the Hokage's students? Wasn't he one of the higher ranked jounins in Konoha? How had he not been called and given orders or summoned to some sort of strategic meeting? Everyone else around him seemed plenty busy. It bothered him that he somehow seemed left out of the loop even though he was all better now and had been in the thick of everything from the start.

He knocked into Sakura with a clipboard and shopping bags the size of which he never knew existed. She glanced up at him and he could tell she had been chewing on her lip, a habit she developed whenever she was stressed out. She seemed to brighten once she saw him though.

“Oh, Naruto! What’s this, you don’t have training with someone or something?” Sakura shifted some of the bags and Naruto saw an insane amount of medicinal plants in them.

“No, I do have to meet Sasuke in a couple of hours, but otherwise I have nothing else to do.” Naruto explained with a shrug.

“Meet Sasuke, huh?” Sakura asked with what Naruto could almost call a knowing smile. “That’s nice, I suppose the two of you need to have some alone time. Well then, I’m off to the hospital.” Sakura shifted the bags all over again.

“Let me help you carry those,” Naruto offered. Sakura chuckled.

“I’m sure you know pretty well that I can handle these by myself.” She grinned widely. “But thank you for the offer. Maybe you can go and train a little bit with Neji, Lee and Tenten. I saw them heading off to the training grounds for a brief training session.” Naruto frowned at her unhappily, but watched her walk off cheerfully.

As much as he enjoyed training with the training obsessed group, he wasn’t in the mood train. He felt like doing something a lot more serious. He wanted to be given a mission. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he decided. He was on his way to the Hokage’s office the next moment, with a stick of dangos in his mouth, wondering if Itachi would be jealous enough to blow fire at him. 

“Kakashi sensei,” Naruto called, opening the door and not caring for the fact that Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Tsunade, Yamato and the elders were animatedly discussing something. All of them turned to look at him and then Tsunade shot a look at Kakashi that spelled ‘I told you so’. “Give me something to do before I go crazy.” Naruto demanded. Kakashi sighed.

“I should’ve known the nosiest member of the group would notice he was being left out.” Kakashi leaned back on his chair. “Alright then, let’s give you something to do. How friendly would you consider yourself with Nii Yugito, Naruto?” 

“Yugito? She’s alright, I enjoyed talking to her at the meeting.” Naruto nodded and answered honestly.

“Right, Nii Yugito’s party was ordered to turn around and come to Konoha instead. There has been an unforeseen obstacle. Several villages on her party’s path have been attacked by an unknown force. See to it that when she arrives everything she might need will be there. You can arrange a suitable group to help you out.” Kakashi nodded. “Gaara sent in a message saying that there seems to be some disturbances at the Kaze no Kuni border otherwise they would have accommodated her.”

“Understood.” Naruto nodded. He walked back out, wondering who he should ask to help him. Well first of all, since it was Nii Yugito, he should probably ask Kiba or he’d never hear the end of it. Since Karui was coming then maybe he could ask Chouji? If Neji, Tenten and Lee were just training then he could ask them to help. Naruto tossed the stick that was still in his mouth into a trashcan and first headed for the training group. 

The training ground looked relatively empty, which Naruto knew couldn’t be real. He managed to duck just as Lee went flying above his head. Alright, so maybe he shouldn’t have walked straight in. But the group had already noticed him and all of them stopped, quickly approaching him.

“Oh, you’ve returned, Naruto. How are you?” Neji asked him.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking I need a little bit of help.” Naruto said. “Nii Yugito is coming here to Konoha because of security issues and I need a team to keep an eye on her and make sure she arrives safely and stays here safely. I was wondering if you guys could help.”

“I’ll help!” Tenten grinned. “It’s not everyday I get the chance to meet a super strong kunoichi from another country.”

“I will also help, Naruto. I could ask the group about their training secrets!” Lee said enthusiastically. Tenten chuckled awkwardly. The three of them turned to Neji.

“I’m sorry, I have to help with clan preparations.” Neji apologized. Naruto blinked. That was right.

“Oh no, it’s alright. I should have guessed that.” Naruto nodded. “Um, I guess you guys can continue training for now? I’ll bring by others in a bit?” 

“We’ll come with you!” Lee said. Tenten agreed.

“In that case, I’ll go and help my clan.” Neji bowed his head slightly and was bounding away the next second.

“Who else do you plan on asking?” Tenten asked him as Naruto headed to where he last had seen Kiba while Lee and Tenten followed him.

“Kiba and Chouji and if their teammates are willing to help it would be great.” Naruto answered. As they walked, Tenten asked him about the kunoichi at the meeting and Naruto explained their powers. He may have gotten a little excited while talking about Karin - without mentioning that she was related to him - but the other two didn’t mention it if they had noticed. Naruto didn’t mind talking about the Uzumaki Clan now, but he didn’t know who could be listening. Until Nagato gave him the clear, Naruto wouldn’t reveal much about them. Sakura was an exception of course. 

They found Kiba with Shino and Hinata. They were going over their weapons in a supply shop. Akamaru barked at them in greeting and that was when the three noticed Naruto, Tenten and Lee.

“Naruto! You left me at that restaurant with a shadow clone! That’s cruel, man!” Kiba snapped, faking distress.

“Well, I have something to make up for that.” Naruto said. “Nii Yugito is coming to Konoha for various reasons. I’ve been put in charge of her. Would the three of you like to help?” The three glanced at each other.

“I’m sorry, Naruto kun.” Hinata whispered nervously. “I have to help the Hyuuga Clan prepare for war.” Naruto had expected that. She was the daughter of the head of the Hyuuga Clan and her younger sister would be the next head.

“It’s alright!” Naruto reassured her with a bright grin and she turned red. 

“I’m sorry, Naruto. I too have to help out with my Clan. Pre war preparations is very complicated for the Aburame Clan.” Shino said seriously. Naruto hadn’t been expecting that, but considering that Shino’s clan mainly relied on insects, Naruto could understand that preparations would be wildly different in the Clan. 

“Forget clans! I’m totally helping!” Kiba shouted loudly and the shopkeeper hurled a block of wood at Kiba. 

“Well that makes four of us...do any of you know where Chouji is?” Naruto asked.

“Oh, if you’re thinking of asking them, you shouldn’t.” Shino said. “Ino-Shika-Chou work together while preparing for war, they’ll be busy, Shikamaru is twice as busy as the Hokage’s strategist.”

“You’re right…” Naruto murmured, rubbing the back of his head. “Alright then, well this is enough!” Naruto said. They exited the shop and Naruto pondered quietly. “OK, Kiba and Lee I want you to go and check out things with ANBU to estimate how long she’ll take to get here, how safe the paths are and if our escort is necessary. Tenten and I will check where they will stay and make sure security is tight. We’ll meet in front of the Konoha gate.” Naruto said. Kiba and Lee nodded and were instantly gone. “You go ahead Tenten, we’ll use the guest house that Temari usually uses when she’s here. I’m going to go and inform the hospital that they might need medical attention.” Naruto told her. Tenten nodded and was gone the next moment. Naruto went towards the hospital. It didn’t take long to find Sakura with Shizune.

“Naruto, what are you doing here?” Sakura asked. 

“Nii Yugito’s group is going to come in. We’re not sure when, but they’ll be here. They might need medical attention so I wanted to let all of you know.” Naruto said.

“Understood.” Shizune nodded. “If you could give us an estimate of what time they might come at, it would help.”

“I’ll keep you updated.” Naruto said.

When he arrived at the guest house Tenten was checking all the rooms and windows and cleaning while she was at it.

“I’ll use my kyuubi sage mode to check for anything.” Naruto told her.

“Huh? Why?” Tenten asked in confusion.

“When we were at the Kage Candidate meeting, someone was used with a forbidden jutsu even though there was tighter security than here in Konoha. We assumed that the other side has some techniques that we don’t know about. That’s why they used me to scan for any threats.” Naruto said.

“Hm, something like that happened?” Tenten asked.

“It’s confidential, so I won’t go into details.” Naruto grinned. He sat down and started gathering natural energy. Tenten continued to clean up. He went into sage mode and then checked for anyone else around them. Then he eased into Kyuubi mode checking for anything else. He felt the sinister energy first. He snapped his eyes open. “Tenten, stop!” Naruto shouted. Tenten froze. “Tch, is this some kind of joke?” Naruto got up and stared at a small vase on the table. 

“Hm? This vase?” Tenten asked, reaching for it.

“Don’t touch it!” Naruto said. “A jutsu of some sort has been attached to it and I don’t know how it works.” Tenten drew her hand back, looking startled. “But why would something like this be put in such an obvious spot? They should know that I can sense these things.” 

“What are we going to do? Break the vase?” Tenten asked him.

“I’m going to take this to Kakashi sensei to have him examine the jutsu.” Naruto picked up a rag Tenten had been wiping the table with and gingerly picked up the vase. “Take care of the rest here and go to the front gate.”

She nodded and he headed to the Hokage building. Kakashi was still having a meeting when Naruto knocked, but Naruto guessed this was of equal importance. Naruto opened the door and Kakashi raised his eyebrows at him.

“I’m sorry to interrupt this meeting, but in the guest house where we are planning to house Nii Yugito and her group, we found a suspicious item. I believe it has some sort of jutsu embedded into it like I described in my report. I assumed you would want to study it immediately.” Naruto said.

Kakashi’s eyes widened.

“Yes, yes indeed. Rin, can you take that down to the investigation department?” Kakashi asked. “Be careful not to touch it, make sure you inform others not to touch it and take Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi’s reports with you.”

“Alright.” Rin put her papers down on the table and walked over to Naruto, carefully taking the vase from him. “A vase, huh?” Rin murmured. “Is this their way of telling us they can enter Konoha without difficulty?” Naruto blinked at her and she shook her head before smiling. “You can go back to your work, Naruto kun.”

“OK,” Naruto nodded and then glanced at the clock. He had only just a little bit until he had to meet up with Sasuke. When Naruto got to the gate Kiba, Tenten and Lee were already waiting there for him.

“What did Hokage sama say?” Tenten asked him.

“They are going to investigate it. If we can figure out at least some of the jutsus of the enemy then it might make a huge difference in the battle ahead of us.” Naruto told them. “So what information do we have, Kiba, Lee?” Naruto asked.

“They’re being extra careful, they should get here late tonight.” Kiba said.

“Eh, so that means no sleep for us, huh?” Tenten sighed.

“Don’t say that, Tenten! Think of it as training! Training!” Lee emphasized. Tenten shot Lee a tired grin.

“Right...training.” She said.

“Alright, then after dinner all of us can meet up here at the gate. I have a little bit of work to do.” Naruto said.

“That works with me.” Kiba linked his hands behind his head and nodded. All of them agreed and then Naruto went towards the Uchiha compound training grounds. He knew Sasuke wanted to talk, but he wasn’t sure how they would start, where they would start. It was selfish of him to hope Sasuke would handle all of the talking and Naruto would only put in his own input where he felt necessary. How long would they just train for, would they even train at all?

Naruto jumped onto the top of the wall of the training grounds and observed the area for a moment. He was surprised when he saw that Sasuke was already there, fiddling with a long metal case. Naruto stared at him blankly, his stomach starting to tie itself into knots. Naruto was scared to talk to Sasuke and possibly realize that he really didn’t want to marry Sasuke after all. Technically, Nagato could still call off the engagement, but this was Naruto’s home.

_ No...they wouldn’t kick you out just because you called off the engagement. _

“Oh...but the elders might,” Naruto groaned. 

“How long are you going to stand there?” Sasuke asked him. Naruto rolled his eyes and just dropped off the wall when a white and long kunai flew at him. Naruto barely managed to dodge the kunai and it buried itself to the hilt in the hard walls right next to Naruto’s face. Sasuke smirked, seeming amused. “As expected, you managed to dodge that.”

“Are you trying to kill me?” Naruto shouted in outrage.

“I knew you could dodge it, dobe.” Sasuke shrugged. Naruto flushed. Of course he could dodge it!

“You think you’re funny?” Naruto fumed. Sasuke grinned and walked towards Naruto.

“Hand me my kunai.” Sasuke said, holding out his hand. Naruto made a face and then pulled the kunai out of the wall in one fluid motion. Naruto glanced at the kunai and his eyes widened.

“This kunai!” Naruto cried out.

“I always used to wonder where I got it from.” Sasuke admitted. “I didn’t know where I got it from and I had a feeling that I shouldn’t show it to my parents. So in the end I never used it. I figured now would be a good time to try it out. It’s sharpness is surreal.”

“And you threw it at my face!” Naruto screeched in realization and horror.

“I had faith you would dodge.” Sasuke said.

“That doesn’t excuse anything!” Naruto snapped. 

“Right, right.” Sasuke waved his hand dismissively. He took the kunai from Naruto’s fingers and slipped it into the metal case he was holding. “To be honest, reality is that you were off guard.” Sasuke said impassively before a normal kunai came slashing at Naruto’s face. Naruto ducked, dropping to the ground and rolling away from Sasuke.

“Teme!-” Naruto was forced to dodge again when Sasuke swung the kunai at Naruto again. Were they seriously doing this? 

_ Apparently yes, _ Naruto thought as Sasuke drew his sword. 

Naruto whipped out a kunai just fast enough to block Sasuke’s sword. They continued to parry blows and there was an almost unspoken agreement not to use any jutsus. Naruto had fought Sasuke before. On several occasions in fact. They had been pitted against each other far too often. But Naruto hadn’t enjoyed any of those fights. Now, as they fought while practically almost going for the kill, Naruto couldn’t keep the grin off of his face and neither could Sasuke. The last time Naruto remembered fighting with Sasuke like this was when they were just little kids. 

“Oi, Dobe, be careful, don’t just crash into Kagami.” Sasuke deadpanned. Naruto faltered for only a second but that second was all Sasuke needed. The kunai went flying out of Naruto’s grip and then he was pinned to the ground, Sasuke’s sword against his neck.

“You cheated!” Naruto shouted in anger. Kagami was the youngest Uchiha clan member and he had a talent for stealth - probably because of his short stature. Naruto and several others unfortunately often walked into the child.

“I did not cheat, you’re just off guard.” Sasuke snickered, but he wasn’t looking down on Naruto, he was just genuinely pleased with himself. Naruto frowned.

“I’m going to forever call you a cheater.” Naruto said, looking away. So yeah, Sasuke was attractive and Naruto had been attracted to him all his life and now, even though Naruto wasn’t in love with Sasuke, being held down was rather nerve wracking. 

“Well then, I’ll just look for some more entertaining nicknames for you.” Sasuke said, still amused and not shaken at all. It frustrated Naruto! Sasuke pulled away from Naruto, sitting on the ground and sheathing his sword. Naruto sat up as well, dusting off his jacket. It was then Naruto realized that Sasuke had gone completely quiet. He hadn’t been quiet since Naruto had jumped on top of the wall.

How strange, Naruto had almost felt like he had been transported back in time.

“So, we have a lot to talk about.” Sasuke said. He slowly faced Naruto and then bowed till his forehead touched the ground. Naruto stared, frozen in shock. Naruto opened his mouth, about to cry out, when Sasuke spoke first. “I’m sorry for all the pain and grief I have caused you since you moved into the Uchiha Compound. It is one of the worst things I have ever done in my life and I know no amount of apologizing can fix what I’ve done. I’m sorry.”

A part of Naruto wanted to tell Sasuke that it wasn’t his fault, just like he had done with the Uzumaki massacre. But Naruto knew that, Sasuke was apologizing for something that wasn’t just a child’s mistake or a misunderstanding. He  _ had _ done something terrible to Naruto, and Naruto  _ wanted _ an apology. Sasuke was apologizing with everything in himself to Naruto and it would be terribly demeaning towards Sasuke for Naruto to just brush off his apology.

“Thank you for apologizing...and you’re right, apologizing won’t fix the things that you have done, but I’m fine with it. I definitely deserved that apology. I forgive you.” Naruto smiled softly. Sasuke’s head shot up, a look of angry disbelief on his face.

“What the hell? Why are you forgiving me so easily, you-” Sasuke started to snap.

“You apologized sincerely...that’s why I forgave you, just like I forgave Kurama.” Naruto beamed. Sasuke blinked and his eyes widened in realization. “Also…” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “You can get up now? This is really awkward.”

“Don’t say stuff like that! It ruins the moment!” Sasuke grumbled, turning red. Naruto chuckled. “I told Sakura everything.”

“You did?!” Naruto exclaimed.

“I did. She accepted it better than I thought she would.” Sasuke said, sounding calm despite the look of shock on Naruto’s face.

“Why would you do that?” Naruto asked. Sasuke had revealed everything to Sakura, as if he didn’t want to hide anything anymore.

“Because she asked.” Sasuke deadpanned, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But it wasn’t. For as long as Naruto had known Sakura, he had believed Sakura and Sasuke liked each other. He had only recently discovered that Sakura didn’t like Sasuke.

“But aren’t you in love with Sa-”

“I’m in love with  _ you _ , Naruto.” 

The sound of the wind filled Naruto’s ears as Sasuke looked him straight in the eyes. No hesitation and no lies. Naruto was stunned speechless and motionless. His body was simultaneously burning and freezing. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard and Naruto felt like everything before him was a dream. But Naruto could feel the dull pain of having been thrown to the ground on his back and Sasuke’s stare was too real to be a dream.

_ B-but...but...I-I’m...not… _

Sasuke was silent, as if waiting for him to say something.

“I-I’m not in love with you, Sasuke!” Naruto cried out, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I expected that.” Sasuke said simply. Naruto looked up, surprised. “I wasn’t expecting a positive answer. I haven’t exactly acted with a charming attitude for the past few years.” Sasuke didn’t look fazed in the least. “Are you going to break off the engagement?” This time Naruto heard insecurity in his voice.

“I was thinking about it...but I think I need some more time to think things through.” Naruto said quietly. When he thought he had been the only surviving member of the clan, he hadn’t even dreamed of breaking off the engagement. But things had changed drastically. 

“Alright, take your time.” Sasuke nodded, getting to his feet. He held out his hand to Naruto and Naruto took it and stood up. “But in that mean time, I’m going to change your mind, so you’re not going to want to break off the engagement.” Sasuke grinned cheekily. Naruto gaped at Sasuke and Sasuke quickly pressed a feather light kiss to Naruto’s cheek and then he vanished.

“Ah!” Naruto shrieked and slapped his hand against his cheek.

_ What just happened?! _

_ You were confessed to _ , Kurama said, sounding bored.

“You’re not helping!” Naruto shouted.

\------o------

“Why is your face red, Naruto?” Itachi asked when Naruto entered the house. Naruto grumbled to himself. After hearing a confession like that, Naruto almost expected Sasuke to avoid him for a while. Naruto sure as hell would have if he had been in Sasuke’s shoes. But Sasuke was waiting outside the house for him. Naruto had almost felt like throwing a rasengan at him. But instead of pulling off a move like he did at the training grounds, Sasuke had merely greeted him and then followed him into the house.

“No reason.” Naruto muttered at Itachi.

“Sasuke, did you do something to Naruto again?” Itachi gave a long suffering sigh.

“I don’t like what that statement is insinuating. I’m not being cruel anymore. I properly apologized too.” Sasuke said pointedly to Itachi. Naruto just went to his room to take off all of his gear. Neither of the two idiots in the house could cook properly without setting something on fire, so he had to make dinner as usual. When Naruto came back to the main room, Sasuke and Itachi were arguing over something that made no sense to Naruto at all.

Naruto quickly made dinner and then laid it on the table. The argument had turned to a teasing fest apparently, since Itachi was smirking and Sasuke looked red in the face.

“Are the two of you interested in dinner?” Naruto asked.

The conversation broke up and the two of them sat at the table. They thanked Naruto for the food and then they started to eat.

“Oh yes, Naruto, I hear you’re helping out with Nii Yugito?” Itachi asked.

“I am.” Naruto nodded. “I’m going to probably be out for the majority of the night so you guys can lock up and sleep. I’ll sleep over at Kiba’s place.” 

“I’m going to be out too, though.” Itachi said. “Which means, Sasuke will be here alone tonight.”

“Ah, no worries with that. Kakashi sensei needs me for something.” Sasuke said. 

“Alright then, I guess that means whoever leaves the house last has to lock up.” Naruto grinned. “And that won’t be me.” Naruto scrambled to finish the rest of his dinner and then got up.”I’m heading off first.” Naruto said.

“Ah, wait. I’m coming with you.” Sasuke stood up as well.

“Eh, so I have to lock up?” Itachi whined. 

“That’s right.” Naruto said. He put his dishes into the sink. He’d wash them up when he came back. Sasuke put his dishes there as well and the two of them rushed to get their things and leave before Itachi somehow magically managed to leave before them - he was definitely capable of it.

It was still stunning for Naruto to be able to walk out of the front of the Uchiha Compound with Sasuke. The cold night air kissed Naruto’s skin and Naruto was suddenly reminded again of Sasuke’s confession. He was pretty sure he wasn’t in love with Sasuke, but he had thought he had been for a long time, so receiving a confession like that had shaken him. And it embarrassed him to get a confession at all.

“Be careful, alright?” Sasuke said.

“Huh?” Naruto turned to look at him.

“Nii Yugito is coming with her group from outside because of a threat. We don’t know what kind of thing might follow them in. So...be careful.” Sasuke said. Naruto looked down at his feet. That was right, Naruto had already been targeted on several occasions and just that afternoon Naruto had found the vase. It was a pretty dangerous job even if the ANBU were keeping an eye out. Of course Sasuke was worried, especially since - 

_ “I’m in love with  _ you _ , Naruto.” _

Naruto’s face burned up.

“I-I’ll be careful. If it makes you feel better, I’ll be in my Kyuubi sage form.” Naruto said, wringing his hands together nervously. Sasuke nodded.

“Oh, the two of you came together, that’s rare.” Kiba commented as soon as they reached the gate. Naruto froze up, searching for an excuse by habit.

“Well we had dinner together and I have to go meet Kakashi sensei.” Sasuke said. All of them gaped at Sasuke. Sasuke observed their reactions for a second and then he grabbed Naruto’s arm. “Come with me for a moment.”

“Huh?” Naruto cried out as Sasuke dragged him off. “What happened?” Naruto asked, knowing for sure that his face was red.

“I forgot to say this, but we don’t have to hide anything from anyone anymore.” Sasuke said. Naruto ran the implications of that in his head. Sasuke however instantly seemed to have taken his silence as a bad sign and he let go of Naruto’s arm. “Sorry - I mean - if you want to keep hiding things then that’s also fine. It’s all completely your choice. Just let me know what you want to hide and what you don’t.” Sasuke looked away. “I’m going to go to Kakashi sensei now. Stay safe.” 

Naruto watched Sasuke leap away. Everything in him felt warm. It wasn’t love - he knew that for sure - but he was happy. 

“Alright,” Naruto said, with a wide smile which he couldn’t keep off of his face. “Let’s use Kyuubi sage mode, Kurama!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke tries to make things better and doesn't know how, so he goes full out and over does things. Aaaaaahh, I am so super sorry for the delay. I've gotten involved in so many things and by the time I thought of coming back here to finish things up I took one look at my writing and went *cringe*. Lol, anyways, I tried to do as much as I could for this chapter. It's not much. I hope you guys liked it!


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